S Korea’s Doosan Heavy Unveils 8MW Offshore Wind Turbine Prototype

South Korea-based Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction has announced that it has completed the implementation of the 8MW offshore wind turbine prototype at the Korea Wind Power Demonstration Center, South Jeolla Province.

The commissioning process will be initiated at the end of this month, after which international certification for the wind turbine will be obtained and final preparations for commercialization will be completed in June, said Doosan.

The 8MW offshore wind turbine, which was developed as an industry-academia-research sector cooperation project led by the Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning (KETEP) since 2018, is reportedly Korea’s largest wind turbine to date.

The wind turbine, encompassing the blade that is 100 meters long and tower that is 130 meters high, has a total height of 232.5 meters. The wind turbine has the capacity to produce 8MW of power where winds blow at a speed of 11m/s and shows a utilization rate of 30 percent or higher even when the average wind speed is 6.5m/s, added Doosan.

“We have been working on developing a model that is specially designed to suit the conditions of the Korean wind environment, a typhoon-prone region that has an average wind speed that is comparatively lower than Europe. By adding this large-capacity 8MW model to our existing models that include the 3MW and 5.5MW wind turbines, we have effectively expanded our product line-up,” said Hongook Park, CEO of Doosan Heavy’s Power Services Business Group.

He added, “By working together with the local wind power companies, we plan to increase the local manufacturing of parts, which is currently in the 70 percent range or higher, to an even higher percentage and will seek to contribute to promotion of the domestic wind power ecosystem.”

Last month, the Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy designated the offshore wind farm in Korea’s southwestern region as the country’s first new and renewable energy cluster complex. In line with the efforts for expansion of offshore wind power, which included construction of the Southwest Demonstration Wind Farm (400MW) in North Jeolla Province, Doosan Heavy has been working on development of the 8MW wind turbine, one that is optimally designed to suit Korea’s wind conditions, the company states.