Original Korean article: Korea Economic Daily
Denmark's Ørsted, the world's largest offshore wind developer, has halted its bid participation in South Korea's largest offshore wind project in Incheon and begun restructuring its Korean organization. The decision comes as external risks including rising supply chain costs and uncertainty have sharply worsened the project's viability. However, Ørsted has reportedly signaled its intention to continue operations in Korea, with Chairman Rasmus Ergo planning to visit South Korea in early September to file an investment notification.
According to energy specialist media Recharge News on September 27, Ørsted has decided to provisionally suspend its 1.4 gigawatt offshore wind project in waters off Incheon. The company will not participate in the government's planned fixed-price contract competitive auction for offshore wind and will conduct a full review of the project.
As development activities contract, large-scale workforce reductions have become unavoidable. Ørsted announced through an internal notice that it plans to carry out restructuring across its global organization, including its Korean subsidiary. Per Mejnert Kristensen, Ørsted's Asia-Pacific Regional President, stated in an internal memo that "over the past year, external factors have increased the risk profile of the Incheon project while significantly weakening its business case," and that "the project does not meet our internal investment criteria, so we are suspending our participation in the current phase of the auction."
Ørsted's Incheon project comprises two facilities of 800 megawatts and 600 megawatts respectively, making it the largest offshore wind project pursued by a single private developer in South Korea. With total project costs reaching several trillion won, it has been regarded as a flagship large-scale renewable energy project in the domestic market.
However, Ørsted is reportedly planning for its chairman to visit South Korea in September to file an investment notification for the 1.4 gigawatt offshore wind project. This would signal the company's intent to execute investment funds domestically and begin full-scale project implementation. Industry observers note that this was originally scheduled, and whether it will proceed as planned remains uncertain given recent foreign media reports and the current atmosphere.
While Ørsted has stated that this decision does not represent a complete withdrawal from the Korean market, analysts point out that a visible trend of global offshore wind companies exiting or suspending investment in Korea is emerging due to inflation, high interest rates, and Korea's complex licensing and regulatory environment. Before Ørsted, Equinor and Shell have already withdrawn from the Korean market.
An industry official said, "The government has set a target to lower the offshore wind generation cost to 250 won per kilowatt-hour by 2030 and 150 won or less by 2035," and noted that "without concrete justification, unrealistic policy is causing even developers with competitive advantages and experience to view the viability of Korean offshore wind projects negatively." The Ministry of Climate and Environment previously announced plans to increase renewable energy to 220 gigawatts by 2040, with offshore wind accounting for 45 gigawatts of that total.
