• National project for localized manufacturing of 10MW wind turbine to be pursued with state-owned companies and SME in power sector
• Seeking to counter the reach of foreign-made products in Korean market by promoting Korea’s wind ecosystem to achieve energy security

Doosan Enerbility will be working together with several Korean power companies recognized as wind specialists to enhance the competitiveness of Korea’s 10MW offshore wind turbine.

Doosan Enerbility announced on September 12th that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with four state-owned power companies* and a small to medium-sized enterprise in the wind power sector** on pursuing the “National Technology Development Project for Reducing Supply Chain Costs of Korean Ultra-Large Wind Turbine.” The participant companies had previously signed an MOU this past May agreeing to participate and cooperate on such state-led projects.

* Korea Offshore Wind Power(KOWP), Korea East-West Power(EWP), Korea Southern Power(KOSPO), Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP)
** Human Composites Co., Dongkuk S&C, Shilla Corporation, Woorim PTS, Sanil Electric, LSK, Entec Electric & Electronic

This project will be carried out as an initiative that was proposed for the “2nd Renewable Energy R&D Project Grant Award” competition hosted by the Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning(KETEP), which is under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The twelve participant companies will be collaborating on developing technology for a 10MW wind turbine, with the aim being to increase the percentage of the local manufacturing of parts to 70% by next year. From 2027 onwards, a demonstration project will be carried out in coordination with a public offshore wind farm complex. Participation in another large-scale offshore wind farm development project that is currently underway in Korea is also being considered. The project this time holds huge significance as it will be essentially linking together the domestic supply chain for everything from the parts to wind turbine to the offshore wind farm site. This would eventually lead to the reduction of wind turbine costs and more globally competitive prices.

Doosan Enerbility, as the lead contractor of this project, will be in charge of the design, assembly, installation and demonstration of the 10MW wind turbine, and will also be participating in the reliability testing of the parts and the development of automated machines. As such, Doosan will be investing over KRW 50 billion into the related research & development work and the construction of more manufacturing shops. The 10MW wind turbine model being developed by Doosan was designed to be suitable for the Korean environment, which is known to have a low wind speed, and is a wind turbine with a rotor diameter of 205 meters (blade length 100 meters). This model boasts of having an electricity generating capacity of 30% or higher even when the average wind speed is only 6.5m/s.

“This will be an opportunity to secure competitiveness for Korea’s ultra-large offshore wind turbines in the aspects of product quality, cost and delivery time,” said Seungwoo Sohn, CEO of Doosan Enerbility’s Power Services Business Group. “We seek to lead the efforts for laying a solid foundation for energy security in Korea’s wind power industry and promoting the growth of Korea’s wind ecosystem, which has long been targeted actively by foreign wind turbine manufacturers.”

In 2017, Doosan Enerbility had completed construction of the Jeju Tamra Offshore Wind Farm, Korea’s first offshore wind farm. Subsequently in 2021, the company had signed a supplier agreement with KEPCO E&C to supply the components for the 100MW Jeju Hallim Offshore Wind Farm, leading to the delivery of 18 units of 5.5MW offshore wind turbines, with the construction scheduled to be soon completed.