Shell Overseas Investments B.V. and CoensHexicon Co, LTD formally established the Joint Venture MunmuBaram to jointly develop and operate the 1.4 GW MunmuBaram floating offshore wind farm in South Korea
In the Joint Venture, Shell Overseas Investments B.V. holds 80 percent while CoensHexicon Co., LTD. , a Joint Venture between South Korean COENS Co,. Ltd andSwedish floating wind specialist Hexicon AB, holds 20 percent.
Floating wind farm
The project, is located off the south-east coast of South Korea, between 65 and 80 kilometres from the city of Ulsan. The total project site covers an area of approximately 240km2 with water depths ranging between 120 and 160 metres making the site suitable for floating foundations. The project is currently at a feasibility assessment stage,Subject to future investment decisions, MunmuBaram project will be developed in phase(s) and once constructed, expected to generate up to 4.65-terawatt hour (TWh) of clean energy every year.
The proposed floating offshore wind project would be a significant development towards South Korea’s ‘Renewable Energy 3020 Plan’, which aims to increase domestic renewable energy generation to 20% of the energy mix by the year 2030 and will assist in meeting South Korea’s ambition to become carbon neutral by 2050.
“With Shell’s long-standing history in South Korea, we are proud to expand our activities into floating offshore wind. Korea’s capabilities in the fabrication of offshore facilities and shipbuilding could play a pivotal role in the development and fabrication of floating offshore wind foundations not only for Korea but also for the region and beyond.” said Joe Nai, Shell’s General Manager, Offshore Wind Asia.
“MunmuBaram is well positioned to support South Korea’s energy transition,” said YoungKyu Ju, Project Director. “Whilst leveraging Shell’s global experiences and CoensHexicon’s local expertise, MunmuBaram will work closely with local partners and stakeholders to successfully develop one of the first floating offshore wind projects in Korea and contribute to the overall industry growth, local communities, and job creations.”
Site investigations
Since August 2020, the project is collecting a range of measurements, including critical offshore wind data at the project location. With the collected data, MunmuBaram plans to apply for Electricity Business License (EBL) in September 2021. In July 2021, MunmuBaram conducted geophysical survey and now conducting a geotechnical survey, the first among the other developers in the same area, to gather data required for project execution strategy and front-end engineering design. Source: Shell
