South Korean Shipbuilder Eyes Floating Wind Opportunities
South Korean shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries is joining the offshore wind industry through the development of an independent offshore wind floater model able to operate in extreme marine environments.
The company said Monday it had received Approval in Principle (AiP) for its 9.5-MW large-scale offshore wind floater model, Tri-Star Float from the Norwegian classification society DNV.
"Removing a pontoon, a steel-frame structure supporting wind generator on the sea, its compact design will help dramatically shortening construction period from design and transportation to installation," Samsung Heavy Industries said of its design.
"Capitalising on its strengths, SHI will advance into the market targeting the [South Korean] government-led ‘Donghae-1 floating wind farm project’ which will generate 6 GW of power.
SHI said it had started the development of the independent floater model in October 2020 before successfully completing the floating water tank model test at Korea Research Institute of Ships & Ocean Engineering (KRISO) in March, joined by world-renowned classification societies, government agencies and partners of the Donghae-1 project GIG-TotalEnergies, Shell, Equinor and KEPCO with keen interest.
"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 the Offshore Business Division of SHI.