Ørsted has put its planned 1.4GW offshore wind project off Incheon, South Korea, on hold and will not participate in the government’s upcoming fixed-price contract bidding round for offshore wind.
According to media reports, Ørsted will conduct a comprehensive review of the project.
In an internal notice, Ørsted said it plans to restructure its global organisation, including its South Korean subsidiary. The company also said the Incheon project does not meet its internal investment criteria.
The project had been planned in two phases of 800MW and 600MW. If developed as originally planned, it would have been the largest offshore wind project undertaken by a single private developer in South Korea.
Ørsted intends to redesign the project to restore its economic viability before pursuing future bidding rounds.
The South Korean government is targeting offshore wind power prices of 250 won per kWh by 2030 and below 150 won per kWh by 2035.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy also announced earlier this week that South Korea plans to expand renewable energy capacity to 220GW by 2040, including 45GW of offshore wind.