Samsung Heavy Industries to enter offshore wind market with new floater

Korean shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries Co Ltd (KRX:010140), or SHI, announced today that Norway’s DNV has granted the company approval in principle (AiP) for a 9.5-MW offshore wind floater model.

With this new product, the Korean company seeks to enter the domestic and global offshore wind power generation market. At home, SHI’s target is the 6-GW government-led Donghae-1 floating wind project that was unveiled in May 2021.

“The offshore floater will enable us to make forays into the renewable energy sector using our capacity to build large-scale offshore plants. We hope our development is aligned with the government’s Green New Deal Policy,” said Wang K. Lee, vice president of Samsung Heavy Industries’ offshore business division.

SHI noted that it initiated the development of the independent floater model in October 2020 and successfully completed a floating water tank model test at Korea Research Institute of Ships & Ocean Engineering (KRISO) in March 2021. According to the company, its product will help dramatically shorten the construction period from design and transportation to installation.

In May, the Korean government announced plans to invest KRW 36 trillion (USD 31.2bn/EUR 26.5bn) in the construction of the world’s largest offshore wind park on floating foundations, to be located off the coast of Ulsan City. The goal is to build the complex by the end of the decade.

(KRW 1,000 = USD 0.867/EUR 0.736)

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