[Exclusive] Government Reflects 'Offshore Wind Installation Vessels' in Security Indicators... Increasing Supply through Localization

First Half Offshore Wind Power Plan to Be Announced Next Month
Only One Domestic Installation Vessel... Security Indicators to Reflect Related Issues
Separate Public-Led Offshore Wind Bidding to Be Conducted
Proposal to Utilize National R&D Projects for Turbines and More

Large offshore wind turbine installation vessel delivered by Hanwha Ocean. 2025.2.3 Provided by Hanwha Ocean Yonhap News Agency

The government plans to reflect installation vessel-related factors as security indicators in this year's offshore wind power bidding, conducted to promote the localization of Wind Turbine Installation Vessels (WTIVs). Currently, there is only one offshore wind turbine installation vessel operating domestically, raising concerns that reliance on foreign vessels will deepen as the offshore wind market expands. The domestic offshore wind industry is also moving quickly, discussing new orders for installation vessels.

According to the government and related industries on the 3rd, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy plans to announce the 2025 first half wind power competitive bidding implementation plan in March, including these details.

This year's wind power bidding will be held in May. It is characterized by the introduction of a public-led wind power bidding system for the first time and the inclusion of security indicators in the evaluation criteria, strengthening the public role in wind power generation. In particular, the government plans to include installation vessels as an evaluation item in this year's bidding to expand the introduction of domestically produced equipment such as installation vessels and turbines. Offshore wind turbine installation vessels combine cranes on ships to transport and install equipment such as turbines and blades at sea.

Specifically, non-price evaluation criteria are expected to include energy security, regional economic revitalization, and job creation. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced a competitive offshore wind bidding roadmap last August, stating that security indicators would be newly reflected starting this year. The government also plans to promote research and development (R&D) support projects for the development of offshore wind turbine installation vessels suited to domestic geography.

The government's focus on offshore wind turbine installation vessels is based on the expectation that demand will increase as offshore wind power becomes more active. In particular, as offshore wind power generation capacity grows to the 14-15 MW class, new installation vessels have become necessary. Among the five operators selected in the offshore wind bidding held in the second half of last year, four plan to build 14 MW-class generators. Currently, the only domestic offshore wind turbine installation vessel is the Hyundai Frontier, owned by Hyundai Steel Industry, a subsidiary of Hyundai Construction. This vessel can install offshore wind turbines up to 10 MW class.

As offshore wind projects increase, operators are struggling to secure installation vessels. Globally, offshore wind turbine installation vessels are in short supply, causing charter fees to rise significantly. An industry official said, "China and Europe are strong in offshore wind turbine installation vessels, and in Europe, daily charter fees can reach 500 to 600 million KRW." Last year, controversy arose when it was claimed that a domestic offshore wind power complex was using a Chinese WTIV without proper permits.

The offshore wind industry and shipbuilders are moving quickly. According to related industries, Hanwha Ocean is about to receive an order for a 15 MW-class offshore wind turbine installation vessel from a domestic construction company A. A construction company official said, "We are internally discussing WTIV orders and currently undergoing investment review." The construction cost per offshore wind turbine installation vessel is known to be around 700 billion KRW.

Domestic shipbuilders have built and delivered many offshore wind turbine installation vessels to overseas shipowners. However, there have been no new orders domestically due to uncertain demand. The government stated that Hanwha Ocean has delivered a total of three WTIVs, including a large installation vessel ordered from Cadeler, a global offshore wind specialist company. Samsung Heavy Industries has also delivered three WTIVs. The first domestic WTIV, Hyundai Frontier, was built by HSG Sungdong Shipbuilding.

The government plans to separately open a public-led offshore wind bidding market in the first half of this year, in which power generation public enterprises will participate. It plans to allow public institutions to participate in bidding for 20-30% of the total bidding volume. This applies to institutions with more than 51% public equity, and higher equity ratios will receive additional points. Since offshore wind involves large-scale investments, financial support measures will also be included.

Until now, domestic offshore wind power projects have been mainly private-led, resulting in reliance on foreign capital and imported equipment. In the public-led offshore wind projects, it is expected that domestically produced equipment will be widely used.

The government expects that public-led offshore wind power will pave the way for commercialization of projects supported by government R&D. The 10 MW-class offshore wind power generator, developed as a national project by Doosan Enerbility since last year in collaboration with four power generation public enterprises?Korea Offshore Wind Power, Korea East-West Power, Korea Southern Power, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power?and small and medium enterprises, is also expected to be demonstrated and commercialized through this initiative.