GS Entec to supply 37 monopiles for Taean offshore wind farm

GS Entec, a major plant equipment manufacturer and subsidiary of GS Global, will supply 37 monopiles to a planned offshore wind farm off Taean, South Chungcheong, as it expands its production capacity to capture growing demand for large-scale offshore wind projects, the company said on Wednesday.

Under the contract signed with Taean Wind Power, a joint venture company developing a major 504-megawatt offshore wind farm off the coast of Taean, GS Entec will start production in July 2027 and finish deliveries by the end of August 2028.

Monopiles are large steel tubes driven into the seabed to support wind turbines and their towers. According to GS Entec, more than 70 percent of offshore wind projects worldwide use them.

The 504-megawatt wind farm is jointly developed by Singapore-based Vena Energy, Danish investor Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and Korea Western Power. Construction is set to begin in 2028, and completion is targeted for 2030. Once running, the farm is expected to generate enough electricity for about 300,000 households a year.

GS Entec supplied all 64 monopiles for the Yeonggwang Nakwol offshore wind project in 2023. This month, it completed a 300 billion won ($220.8 million) plant expansion. The expansion raised its annual production capacity from 40,000 tons to 150,000 tons.

“Based on our accumulated technology and expanded production capacity, we will win more orders in the domestic and overseas offshore wind substructure markets and keep pace with the government’s push to expand offshore wind power,” a GS Entec representative said.

BY KIM HA-YOON [[email protected]]