South Korea unveiled a $43.2 billion plan to build the world’s largest wind power plant by 2030, as part of efforts to foster an ecological recovery from the effects that have resulted from the global pandemic situation caused by the COVID-19 virus.
The project is an important component of President Moon Jae-in’s Green New Deal, launched last year to curb dependence on fossil fuels in Asia’s fourth-largest economy and make it carbon neutral by 2050.
Moon attended a groundbreaking ceremony in the southwestern coastal city of Sinan for the plant, which will have a maximum capacity of 8.2 gigawatts.
“With this project, we are accelerating the green energy transition and moving more vigorously toward carbon neutrality,” Moon said at the event.
Also in attendance were utility and engineering companies, including Korea Electric Power Corp, SK E&S, Hanwha Engineering & Construction Corp, Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co, CS Wind Corp and Samkang M&T Co.
The companies will provide 47.6 billion of the needed funds and the government the remaining 0.9 billion, Moon’s Blue House office said.
It said the project would provide up to 5,600 jobs and help achieve the goal of increasing the country’s wind power capacity to 16.5 GW by 2030 from the current 1.67 GW.
The planned 8.2 GW is equivalent to the power produced by six nuclear reactors, or the effects of planting 71 million pine trees, officials said.
To date, the world’s largest offshore wind farm is Hornsea 1 in Britain, which has a capacity of 1.12 GW.
