South Korea has unveiled a $43.2 billion plan to build the world’s largest wind power plant by 2030 as part of its efforts to ensure an environmentally-friendly recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The project is a major component of South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s Green New Deal, initiated last year to reduce reliance on fossil fuels in Asia’s fourth-largest economy and make it carbon neutral by 2050. Mr. Moon attended a signing ceremony for the plant, which will have a maximum capacity of 8.2 Gigawatts (GW).
“With this project, we are accelerating the eco-friendly energy transition and moving more vigorously toward carbon neutrality,” Mr. Moon said during the event.
Utility and engineering companies including Korea Electric Power, SK E&S, Hanwha Engineering & Construction, Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction, CS Wind Corp and Samkang M&T Co also attended the signing event.
These companies will provide $47.6 trillion of the required funding and the government will provide the remaining 0.9 trillion, Mr. Moon’s office informed. The project would provide up to 5,600 jobs and help achieve a goal to boost the country’s wind power capacity to 16.5 GW by 2030 from 1.67 GW now. This would be equivalent to the effects of planting 71 million pine trees, officials said.
Currently, the world’s largest offshore wind farm is Hornsea 1 in Britain, which has 1.12 GW capacity.
