GS Entec will supply 37 monopiles, the foundation structures for offshore wind turbines, to a 504-megawatt offshore wind farm to be built off the coast of Taean in South Chungcheong Province. The order follows a recent 300 billion won investment that more than tripled the company's production capacity, accelerating its push into the offshore wind business.
GS Entec said on the 30th that it had signed a contract to supply 37 monopiles for the Taean offshore wind power project. Under the deal, the company will begin full-scale fabrication in July 2027 and complete deliveries in stages by the end of August 2028. The contract value was not disclosed at the client's request.
A monopile is a core foundation structure for offshore wind turbines, made by welding large steel plates into a cylindrical shape, and it supports the turbine and tower. It can typically be used in water depths of up to about 50 meters. Because monopiles cost less to fabricate and take less time to install than jacket-type structures, more than 70% of projects worldwide use them. The waters off Taean, with thick sediment layers and shallow depths, are considered one of the prime areas with ground conditions favorable to the monopile method.
The Taean offshore wind project is being jointly developed by Singapore-based Vena Energy, Denmark's Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) and Korea Western Power. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2028, with completion targeted for 2030. Once finished, the farm is expected to generate enough electricity to power about 300,000 households for a year.
GS Entec entered the monopile business in earnest in 2022 through a strategic technology partnership with Sif of the Netherlands, the global market leader. It went on to supply all 64 monopiles for the Yeonggwang Nakwol offshore wind project in 2023 before winning the latest Taean contract.
GS Entec completed a roughly 300 billion won plant expansion this month, more than tripling its annual production capacity to 150,000 tons from 40,000 tons. "Based on our accumulated technology and expanded production capability, we will win more orders in the domestic and overseas market for offshore wind foundation structures and keep pace with the government's drive to expand offshore wind deployment," a GS Entec official said.
