Ocean Winds (OW) and Mainstream Renewable Power have secured environmental impact assessment (EIA) approval from the South Korean Ministry of Environment for its KF Wind, an 1125MW floating offshore wind project located offshore Ulsan.
The approval covers the initial 375MW East Blue Power phase and the subsequent 750MW KF Wind phase.
The project will see the installation of 75 turbines with floating foundations, two offshore substations, three submarine cables extending 80km, an onshore substation and a 4.5km high-voltage line connecting to KEPCO’s Shinonsan substation.
The approval follows an extensive period of environmental monitoring and community engagement.
OW holds a 66.7% ownership stake in the project, while the remaining 33.3% stake is held by Mainstream Renewable Power.
The project has secured exclusive development rights through two electric business licences (EBLs) obtained in 2022.
The EIA approval is a crucial milestone for advancing the two-phase floating offshore wind project towards construction.
KF Wind's project director Austin Park stated: “I am very proud of achieving this key milestone for our project.
“The KF Wind teams, supported by Ocean Winds and Mainstream Renewable Power, are working diligently for the future 1125MW floating offshore project. [It will] not only generate clean energy and contribute to Korea’s energy transition, but will also adhere to the highest standards of co-existence with local communities, other sea users and the environment.”
In February 2024, UK-based start-up Zelim partnered with OW to test AI-driven person-detection software aimed at improving safety at floating offshore wind farms.
The project used Zelim’s ZOE technology to monitor and track people, vessels and objects in real time, even in difficult maritime conditions.
The pilot project aims to validate the effectiveness of ZOE technology in a real offshore environment. Zelim will track the software’s live feed from cameras on two turbine foundations at Ocean Winds’ WindFloat Atlantic project.
