LS Cable & System (LS C&S) announced that it has been selected as the preferred bidder for subsea cables for the Shinanwui (Sinan Ui) offshore wind farm project that will be the largest such one in South Korea.
Per multiple reports, including the Korea Herald and offshorewind.bz, LS C&S will supply subsea cables for the country’s 400 MW Shinanwui offshore wind project being developed by Hanwha Engineering & Construction (HEC). The Sinan Ui wind farm will be built in the southeastern sea area of the Ui-Do island, in Sinan County, South Jeolla Province. It is projected that the farm will produce more than three times the wind energy currently produced by all Korean offshore wind power farms each year.
The contract for LS Cable & System, to be negotiated, is expected to be worth about US$79 million. LS C&S will deliver all the required subsea cables necessary for the construction of the wind farm and its connection to land in the second half of 2025, with the offshore wind project scheduled to be completed in 2026.
An official from LS Cable & System said in one of the reports that foreign companies such as those from China had taken over the domestic solar power market and that they were also targeting the South Korean offshore wind power market. They noted that the contract was important as it protects the domestic industrial ecosystem.
“Foreign companies, such as Chinese companies, have dominated the domestic solar market and are foraying into the (domestic) offshore wind energy market as well,” an LS C&S official said. “This cooperation is significant in that Hanwha Corp. E&C, the leader of the offshore wind energy business, and a submarine communication cable company cooperate to protect the domestic industry ecosystem.”
LS C&S, which last year launched South Korea’s first subsea power cable laying vessel, has won several cable supply contracts in both Asia and Europe the past year.