South Korea’s Offshore Wind (OSW) industry is rapidly evolving to meet the nation’s target of at least 14.3 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030. With a current pipeline of 21.3 GW of planned capacity, the country’s target is within reach, as long as supportive policy frameworks and adequate supply chain incentives are put in place.

The opportunity:

• Delivering 25 GW of offshore wind by 2035 would enable KRW 132 trillion investment and create up to 150,000 jobs.
• Policies supporting the local supply chain through skills development and worker transition programmes are urgently needed to capture this opportunity.

The supply chain:

• The local supply chain is still nascent with the largest amount of specialisation from local companies seen in the development and consenting stages, indicating the potential to grow across other parts of the supply chain such as installation, commissioning, turbine supply, balance of plant, and operations and maintenance.
• Clear market signals are needed to enable the required investment needed to expand the supply chain.

The ports:

• Existing port infrastructure is robust with many ports already capable of serving offshore wind operation and maintenance services. However, infrastructure upgrades and expansions will be needed to meet the demand for installation services in the upcoming years. 
• Specific investment in deep water port upgrades will be necessary to support the pipeline of floating offshore wind projects.

The challenge:

• Slow permitting, policy uncertainty, and regional competition may lead to deployment delays and subsequent lost of economic opportunities.