Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) has ventured into the domestic and global offshore wind power generation market by developing an independent offshore wind floater model. The South Korean company has announced that it received Approval in Principle (AiP) for its 9.5-MW large-scale offshore wind floater model, Tri-Star Float, from the Norwegian classification society DNV.
SHI said its Tri-Star Float has a compact steel-frame structure and does not feature a pontoon. The company claims its compact design will help dramatically reduce the construction period from design and transportation to installation. Thanks to the 40 years of analysis of data, including wind strength, tide, and water depth in the East Sea, it boasts an optimized design ensuring safety in the extreme marine environment.
Among the first projects, SHI targets for its Tri-Star Float platform is the Donghae 1 floating wind development – the government-led, floating wind farm project, which will generate 6 GW of power announced in May.
The development of the independent wind floater model was started in October 2020 before successfully completing the floating water tank model test at Korea Research Institute of Ships & Ocean Engineering (KRISO) in March. The testing process was overseen by government agencies and partners of the Donghae-1 project GIG-TotalEnergies, Shell, Equinor, and KEPCO.
“The offshore floater will enable us to make forays into the renewable energy sector using our capacity to build large-scale offshore plants. We hope our development is aligned with the government’s Green New Deal Policy,” said Wang K. Lee, Vice President of the Offshore Business Division of SHI.
Earlier in May 2021, Korea National Oil Corporation (KNOC) completed a preliminary feasibility study for the 200 MW Donghae-1 floating offshore wind farm, with plans to start construction next year. The full 6 GW floating offshore wind plant will be commissioned off the coast of Ulsan by 2030. The power plant is expected to produce 84,000 tonnes of clean hydrogen per year.