[Asia Economy Reporter Donghoon Jeong] Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction has completed the installation of an 8-megawatt (MW) offshore wind turbine prototype at the National Wind Power Demonstration Center located in Baeksu-eup, Yeonggwang-gun, Jeollanam-do.
According to industry sources on the 27th, Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction plans to begin test operations of the turbine by the end of this month, obtain international certification by June, and complete preparations for commercialization. The 8MW offshore wind turbine was developed through industry-academia-research collaboration since 2018 as a national project by the Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning, and it is the largest wind turbine installed in South Korea.
The total height of the 8MW wind turbine, including the blade length of 100 meters and tower height of 130 meters, is 232.5 meters, comparable to the N Seoul Tower (236.7m). It can generate 8MW output at a wind speed of 11 m/s and is a high-efficiency product with a utilization rate of over 30% even at an average wind speed of 6.5 m/s.
Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction applied a gearless type direct drive generator to the 8MW wind turbine. This method simplifies the power transmission system, enhancing structural stability and energy efficiency while reducing maintenance costs.
Park Hong-wook, Head of Power Service BG at Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction, said, "We have developed a model specialized for Korea’s wind environment, which has lower average wind speeds and frequent typhoons compared to Europe. In addition to the existing 3MW and 5.5MW models, we have expanded our lineup to include the largest domestic capacity of 8MW. We will cooperate with domestic wind power companies to further increase the localization rate of components, currently over 70%, and contribute to revitalizing the domestic wind power ecosystem."
Last month, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy designated the southwestern offshore wind power complex as the country’s first renewable energy cluster. Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction has been developing the 8MW wind turbine optimized for domestic conditions in line with the expansion of offshore wind power, including the Jeonbuk southwestern pilot complex (400MW).
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