SeAH to supply monopiles for Orsted’s UK offshore wind farm project

SeAH Steel Holdings Corp. ’s UK subsidiary is set to supply monopiles, steel tubes that serve as a fixed foundation for offshore wind turbines, to Danish major renewable firm Orsted A/S.

Orsted on Nov. 10 announced "a multi-million-pound" agreement to be the first customer for monopile foundations manufactured at the planned UK facility of SeAH Wind Ltd.

The deal, subject to securing a Contract for Difference and Final Investment Decision (FID) for Hornsea Three offshore wind farm, plays the leading role in triggering the production of monopiles in the UK for the first time, Orsted said in a statement.

In 2020, SeAH Steel said it will invest 400 billion won ($337.6 million) over the next three years to build the world’s largest monopile plant for offshore wind turbines in the UK.

“Through collaboration across Government, Industry and supply chain, this agreement represents another positive step towards creating a larger and sustainably competitive UK supply chain to support the next chapter in the UK’s offshore wind success story,” said Duncan Clark, Head of Region UK at Orsted.

Orsted has been working on the Hornsea project to build the world’s largest offshore wind farms in the UK. SeAH Wind, the country’s only monopile producer, is slated to supply the steel structures to Hornsea Three, the last addition to Orsted’s UK fleet of offshore wind farms. Once complete, Hornsea Three will produce 2.4 gigawatts (GW) with up to 300 turbines, providing electricity to more than 2 million households.

Orsted has invested over 13 billion pounds ($17.4 billion) in constructing new offshore wind farms in the UK in the last decade and Hornsea Three will be the 14th project in the country’s waters for the company. By 2030, offshore wind will be generating more than a third of the UK’s electricity.

SeAH Wind expects to win more orders in the UK and other European countries.

“SeAH Wind will play a pivotal role in the UK offshore wind supply chain,” said SeAH Steel’s chief operating officer and senior executive vice president Joosung Lee.

Write to Kyung-Min Kang at kkm1026@hankyung.com
Jongwoo Cheon edited this article.