South Korea launches 2.2GW offshore wind auction
South Korea has launched its second offshore wind auction of 2026, offering approximately 2.2GW of capacity and bringing the country’s total auction volume for the year to nearly 4GW.
The Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) said the latest tender includes 1.7GW of fixed-bottom offshore wind capacity and 500MW reserved for floating wind projects.
GWEC added that the fixed-bottom allocation comprises 1.4GW under the general track and 300MW under the public-led track.
The latest round follows the first-half auction, which offered approximately 1.8GW of capacity and attracted bids totalling 3.6GW from nine projects.
The earlier tender included 1GW for fixed-bottom projects, 400MW for floating wind and 400MW for public-led developments.
Price caps for the new auction have been set at KRW 168,937/MWh for fixed-bottom offshore wind with land-based interconnection and KRW 168,913/MWh for projects in Jeju.
Floating offshore wind price caps stand at KRW 174,003/MWh for land-based interconnection and KRW 173,979/MWh for Jeju.
Compared with the first-half auction, the price caps have fallen by 1.34% for fixed-bottom offshore wind and 0.63% for floating projects.
Project evaluations will also consider community acceptance, industrial and economic contributions, domestic supply chain development, operations and maintenance capabilities, security and resilience, and grid integration performance.
Applications open on 30 October and close on 10 December 2026, with award announcements expected from December onwards.
The first-half auction attracted bids from developers including Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, Ocean Winds and SK Eternix.
Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners submitted four bids covering the Haesong 1 and 3 fixed-bottom projects, each with a capacity of 504MW, and the Haewoori 2 and 3 floating wind projects in the Ulsan cluster.
Other bids included the 340MW Hanbit project from Myungun Industrial Development and B.Grimm Power, the 250MW Gulupdo Island proposal from SK Eternix and Daewoo Engineering, and the 375MW East Blue Power floating project from Ocean Winds and Kumyang Electric Co.
More information:https://www.renews.biz/offshore-wind/south-korea-launches-2-2gw-offshore-wind-auction/
