GS Entec to invest $217 million in offshore wind substructure plant

GS Entec, an energy equipment manufacturer under GS Group, will invest 300 billion won over the next two years in production facilities for offshore wind power substructures.

GS Entec's Ulsan plant completed its conversion from a chemical equipment manufacturing facility to produce monopile foundations in March. [GS ENTEC]

GS Entec, an energy equipment manufacturer under GS Group, will invest 300 billion won ($217 million) over the next two years in production facilities for offshore wind power substructures.

The company will inject 214 billion won into the establishment of automated facilities and spend 86 billion won to construct other related infrastructure.

With the investment, GS Entec plants will be able to produce various types of monopile structures tailored to their clients’ needs.

Monopiles are steel tubes driven into the seabed to hold up offshore wind turbines that are considered more efficient to produce in terms of manufacturing period and costs compared to other substructure types.

Part of the funding, amounting to 90 billion won, was secured from domestic financial firms such as Dominus Investment and Simone Investment Managers.

Previously, the company had signed an exclusive licensing deal in 2022 to acquire the technology to produce monopile foundations with Netherlands-based Sif.

With the technology, GS Entec’s Ulsan plant completed a conversion from a chemical equipment manufacturing facility to a monopile factory in March.

The company also secured a 200 billion-won deal to supply 64 of its substructures for the 365-megawatt offshore wind power project situated in South Jeolla’s Yeonggwang County led by Myungwoon Industry Development.

GS Entec has been propelling efforts to transition its business to offshore wind power structures since the early 2020s in line with a global eco-friendly initiative, and is setting its sights on expanding its business overseas to countries such as Japan.

Tokyo aims to increase the country's share of renewable energy up to 38 percent of the total power production, according to its energy policy road map outlined in 2021. Japan also set a target of expanding offshore wind power capacity to 10 gigawatts by 2030, and increase the figure up to 45 gigawatts by 2040.

“GS Entec’s investment and business transition aligns with GS Group’s strategy to achieve future growth through digital eco-friendliness,” a GS Entec spokesperson said in a statement. “We will accelerate cooperation with other affiliates such as GS E&R and GS EPS through our entry into the offshore wind power business.”

BY LEE JAE-LIM [lee.jaelim@joongang.co.kr]