Doosan aims for larger domestic share following type-certification milestone

The company said that, having achieved a type certificate for the 5.5-MW unit, it had completed the commercialisation of the turbine.

The unit is a step up from an earlier 3-MW turbine but is unlikely to compete on the international market given the availability of much larger machines from companies such as Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy and MHI Vestas Offshore Wind. GE Renewable Energy also has its 12-MW Haliade-X in development.

However, the company said it hopes it can now secure a larger share of South Korea’s nascent offshore wind energy market.

Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction is however the first Korean company to receive a type certificate for an offshore wind turbine and the 5.5-MW unit is the largest of any in the South Korean wind power market. A type certificate is issued after a comprehensive evaluation of a turbine’s design, manufacturing facilities and quality management system and testing.

The South Korean company said it had successfully commercialised the 5.5-MW turbine after two years of R&D work. A prototype of the turbine has been operating for approximately five years at the Jeju Gimnyeong demonstration complex.

Doosan EPC chief executive Sungwon Kim said certifying the turbine was significant in that it has laid the ground for domestic Korean technology to play a role in the South Korean Government’s renewable energy policy. He said Doosan “aims secure a larger share of the South Korean wind power market,” in which imported products currently have a market share of more than 50%.

In 2018, Doosan was selected to develop an 8-MW offshore wind turbine by the Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning. It said it is currently managing the design, manufacturing and demonstration stages of the project with the goal of commercialising the 8-MW unit in 2022.

Doosan also participated in the 30-MW Tamra offshore windfarm and 60-MW Seonam offshore windfarm projects.