The Korea Herald

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Korea's first commercial wind farm opens on Jeju

By Yonhap

Published : Nov. 17, 2017 - 13:55

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South Korea opened its first commercial wind power plant on the southern island of Jeju on Friday, stepping up its renewable energy initiative, a state-run utility company said.

Korea South-East Power Co., which is wholly owned by the state-run Korea Electric Power Corp., said the 30-megawatt complex, composed of 10 wind power turbines, opened on the western cost of Jeju following two months of tests.

Paik Un-kyu, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy attended the opening ceremony alongside company officials.

The KEPCO headquarters in Naju, South Jeolla Province (Yonhap) The KEPCO headquarters in Naju, South Jeolla Province (Yonhap)

The offshore wind farm is capable of generating 85,000 megawatts of electricity annually, enough to provide power to up to 24,000 households on the island.

Korea South-East Power has been in charge of the project since it began in 2015, while Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co. built the facility using in-house technology.

With the opening of the plant, South Korea has the world's ninth-largest wind power capacity at 35 megawatts, the state-run company said. (Yonhap)