RWE has signed a joint business development agreement with Korea Western Power (KOWEPO) to build a 495 MW offshore wind project in South Korea.The Seohae offshore wind farm is located 45 kilometres off the coast of Taean County in South Korea’s Chungcheongnam Province.

This is the first project for which RWE obtained an Electricity Business License (EBL) in April from South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

RWE has established an offshore wind project development pipeline of 3 GW in Korea which will support the country’s transition to net zero by 2050.

RWE’s Korean development portfolio includes the 495 MW Seohae project in Taean County, the 510 MW Neulsaem Ui project in the waters off Shinan County and the 2 GW Hanee Baram project in Incheon.

The Germany-headquartered company has also established an offshore wind co-development partnership with Hyundai Engineering & Construction.

At the end of October, South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy opened a tender for 2.8 GW of wind and solar energy capacity, 1.5 GW of which is being sought through offshore wind.

This is the first of several tenders planned under the new roadmap, with the government aiming to auction a total of 7-8 GW of offshore wind capacity from the second half of 2024 to the first half of 2026.