Assessment of Possible Resources and Selection of Preparatory Sites for Offshore Wind Farm around Korean Peninsula

Recently, developing the offshore wind farm in Korean peninsula is widely understood as essential to achieve the national target for the renewable energy. As part of national plan, KEPRI (Korea electric power research institute) is performing the front running project for the offshore wind farm development that is dedicated to investigate the possible resources based on the economy considering current technological status. It also includes the selection of the first sea area among candidates and optimal design of the offshore wind farm, etc. In this paper the interim results of the project are summarized that the possible capacity for the offshore wind farm can be estimated conservatively around 18 GW regarding the wind power class, sea depth and social constraint. The five western sea areas near Taean, Gunsan, Gochang, Yeonggwang, Sinan were chosen for the candidating sites. Detailed analysis for these sites will be conducted to finalize the first-going offshore wind farm in Korea.