OWC, formerly known as Offshore Wind Consultants, has set up an office in South Korea, a country with ambitious offshore wind plans.
"We continue our expansion into key emerging markets such as South Korea. We believe a local presence is central to leveraging our global expertise and providing the best possible local support to wind farm developers,” says Will Cleverly, managing director of OWC, an independent technical advisor, engineering and project management consultancy to the offshore renewables sector.
The South Korean government has announced that it aims to reach 30-35% renewables in its energy mix by 2040. This translates to installing almost 130GW of renewable energy by 2040, compared to the current capacity of around 11.3GW, OWC said.
“Offshore wind is not a major energy source in South Korea today, but we see huge opportunities within both fixed and floating offshore wind installations. Our presence here reflects our ambitions to support the country’s green energy drive,” adds Cleverly.
OWC, the offshore wind unit of Oslo-listed AqualisBraemar, has appointed Noh Joon “NJ” Park to head up its operation in South Korea, based out of Seoul.
Park joins OWC from sister company AqualisBraemar’s Singapore office, where he has held a project director role for the past six years. Park has more than 28 years’ experience in offshore wind and oil and gas industries, with a background in structural engineering for offshore structures including all relevant yard activities such as fabrication, loadout and installation.
Prior to AqualisBraemar, Park spent four years as project manager at DNV GL and almost 20 years with Hyundai Heavy Industries, including the role as general manager for the construction giant’s structure and T&I department.
“When people take a look at NJ’s CV, most instantly say ‘wow’. He has been involved in such an amazing number of offshore projects all over the world and will be a fantastic asset for our clients in South Korea,” says Will Cleverly.
Worth noting, OWC has in the past few months also opened offices in Japan and Australia.
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