SEOUL, December 11 (AJP) - SK Innovation E&S said Thursday it has completed Jeonnam Offshore Wind Farm 1, the country’s largest privately financed offshore wind project, marking a milestone for South Korea’s efforts to expand renewable energy and meet its carbon-neutrality targets.
A completion ceremony was held in Sinan, attended by Climate and Energy Minister Kim Sung-hwan, South Jeolla Province Governor Kim Young-rok and SK Innovation E&S President Lee Jong-soo.
The fixed-bottom wind farm, located about 9 kilometers northwest of Sinan’s Jaeun Island, has an installed capacity of 96 megawatts. Equipped with 10 9.6MW turbines, it is expected to generate roughly 300 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually — enough to power around 90,000 households — and cut carbon emissions by an estimated 240,000 tons per year compared with coal-fired generation, the company said.
The project began in 2020 as a joint venture between SK Innovation E&S and Denmark-based Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP). It secured major permits in 2022, started construction in March 2023 and entered commercial operation in May 2025.
Jeonnam Offshore Wind Farm 1 is the first renewable-energy project in South Korea to use non-recourse project financing, a structure that industry officials say could pave the way for greater private-sector participation in large-scale clean-energy developments.
Its completion is expected to accelerate progress on an 8.2GW offshore wind complex planned near Imja Island — billed as the world’s largest — which aims for full operation by 2035. SK Innovation E&S and CIP plan to break ground on additional phases from 2027, targeting a combined 900MW capacity by 2031.
“The completion of Jeonnam Offshore Wind Farm 1 is a meaningful step for the domestic offshore wind industry, contributing to carbon neutrality and strengthening regional cooperation,” said Lee Jong-soo, president of SK Innovation E&S.
* This article, published by Aju Business Daily, was translated by AI and edited by AJP.
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