Total, a France-based oil and gas company, announced that it had joined hands with Macquarie’s Green Investment Group to develop over 2 GW of floating offshore wind projects in South Korea.

According to the press release, both companies entered into a 50:50 partnership to develop five floating offshore wind projects on the eastern and southern coasts of the country. An on-site wind data collection campaign has . Both companies are expected to start the construction of the first project with a total capacity of around 500 MW by the end of 2023.

“Our entry in the floating offshore wind segment in South Korea is in line with Total’s strategy to profitably develop renewable energy worldwide and contribute to our net-zero ambition,” said Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of Total.

“We strongly believe in the potential of floating offshore wind in South Korea, which will play a key role in achieving the country’s renewables objectives,” he added.

In July 2020, South Korea announced its ‘Green New Deal’ plan to expand its renewable energy portfolio to contribute to 20% of the country’s overall power mix by 2030. South Korea also plans to increase the total capacity of its offshore wind projects by 12 GW by 2030.

According to Total, the company has approximately 9 GW of low-carbon electricity portfolio with renewable energy making up to 5 GW. It also aims to achieve 25 GW of renewable energy generation capacity in 2025. The company is expected to expand its low-carbon power generating activities, which could account for up to 40% of the total sales by 2050.

Mercom earlier reported that South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy had announced the development of a 2.1 GW floating solar power project. The massive project will be installed atop the Saemangeum Seawall Dyke, the longest human-made dyke, situated on the southwest coast of the Korean Peninsula.

Asia’s fourth-largest economy aims for 35% renewable energy generation capacity by 2040. Last year, Mercom reported that the Ministry of Environment in South Korea issued guidelines for solar installations.

South Korea had earlier announced that it would build a 4 GW solar and wind energy complex on the Saemangeum reclaimed land area in Gunsan. The hybrid complex will be located along the west coast of South Korea’s Jeollabuk-do Province.