Copenhagen Offshore Partners (COP) has announced that the 96MW Jeonnam 1 Offshore Wind Project in Korea has achieved first power, marking a significant milestone on Korea’s path towards energy independence and its net-zero goals.
COP has co-led project development activities for Jeonnam 1 on behalf of the project’s owners, a JV spearheaded by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) and SK Innovation E&S, one of the largest conglomerates in South Korea.
COP is the exclusive offshore wind development partner to CIP.
Jeonnam 1 is under construction in Shinan county off the southwest coast of Korea.
It is the first privately-led large-scale offshore wind power project in Korea and the third project in APAC COP has been leading through construction this year, the developer said.
Construction on Jeonnam 1 started in early 2023, with turbine installation commencing in September 2024 and commercial operations expected in Q1 2025.
When fully operational, Jeonnam 1 can provide green electricity to power approximately 60,000 households.
Jesper Krarup Holst, COP partner, head of APAC and chief operating officer of the Jeonnam 1, 2 and 3 portfolio, said: “Reaching this stage in the development of the Jeonnam 1 Offshore Wind Project marks a pivotal moment for COP and our project partners.
“We have one of the best teams in this business. I’d like to extend special appreciation to our construction team who have worked tirelessly and achieved a timely delivery of this very important project in Korea.”
COP said it and the project partners have worked closely with the local community, businesses, and stakeholders to share development profits which are contributing to the revitalisation of domestic jobs and industry, while also supporting the buildout of Korea’s national offshore wind industry.
The project has multiple manufacturing and construction contracts with Korean suppliers as well as the use of local ports and facilities, supported both local communities and the domestic offshore wind power industry in South Korea, it added.
COP is leading development of a multi-gigawatt portfolio of offshore wind projects in Korea on behalf of CIP.
In addition to Jeonnam 1, this includes planning and construction for Jeonnam 2 and Jeonnam 3 with a total capacity of 800MW, and the 1.5 GW Haewoori floating offshore wind project.
All of these projects are being developed in close coordination with local stakeholders and the Korean government to achieve their goals to deploy 14.3 GW of offshore wind power by 2030, the developer said.