South Korea has opened tenders for renewable energy projects, seeking bids for a total of 1.8GW in wind power. The offerings include 1GW of fixed-bottom offshore wind, 500MW of floating offshore wind, and 300MW of onshore wind, with a bid deadline set for 22 November 2024.
These initiatives align with the Offshore Wind Power Competitive Bidding Roadmap introduced in August by Vice Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Namho Choe, which aims to launch around 7-8GW of offshore tenders within the next two years.
To guide submissions, the government has implemented a price ceiling of 176.565 KRW/MWh, applying in principle to both fixed-bottom and floating projects. However, the floating wind price may be adjusted after the bid deadline if projects are unable to meet this threshold, according to industry sources.
The tender introduces extended timelines for large-scale projects, with fixed-bottom installations over 300MW allotted a 78-month timeframe from contract signing, while floating projects are eligible for minor extensions.
The bidding process itself will be a two-stage evaluation: first, an assessment of non-price attributes will narrow down the pool to 120-150% of the available bid quantity, after which price-based criteria will determine final selections.
Seoul's roadmap emphasizes a shift toward non-price factors by increasing their scoring weight from 40 to 50 points and including maintenance, security, and community contributions in its criteria. This bid for 500MW of floating offshore wind also marks the country's inaugural tender for that sector.
