Military Permit Derails South Korea’s Anma Offshore Wind Project
Technical hurdles have been a primary risk in the development of offshore wind projects around the world. In South Korea, however, a non-technical issue is derailing the Anma offshore wind farm, proving how regulatory barriers could affect a project already in the construction phase. Anma is a 532 MW offshore wind farm project located 24 miles west of the South Korean Peninsula’s southwestern coastline.
The $3.5 billion project was one of the successful bids on the 2024 fixed-price wind power auction. In 2025, several key supply contracts were signed, with the project on course for its completion in 2029. It is expected to feature 38 wind turbines of 14 MW capacity, supplied by Siemens Gamesa.
The project site, however, reportedly overlaps with the maritime area used by the Agency for Defense Development (ADD) for military weapons testing. With this conflict, the project has been unable to secure the public waters occupation and use permit, which is a pre-construction requirement approved by the Ministry of National Defense.
With the military approval delays, some project suppliers have decided to suspend their contracts. This represents a massive blow to Korea’s first utility-scale wind projects.
South Korea’s SK Oceanplant is one of the companies that has suspended its contract with Anma offshore wind. The contract valued at $273 million was for the supply of 38 jacket foundations. According to local media reports, SK Oceanplant said that the temporary suspension was done at the client’s request.
LS Cable & System also announced this week that its contract with Anma has been terminated. The $110 million contract was for the supply and installation of onshore and offshore export cables. The contract period was from July 2025 to May 1, 2028. CS Wind is another firm that has withdrawn from the project.
There are also reports that Anma’s largest shareholder, the Singapore-based investment firm Equis, is offering to sell its stake in the project to the Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP). Equis has a 78 percent stake, with the remaining part shared by South Korean companies, including Korea Development Bank, CS Wind, and Hoban Industries. Industry analysts expect that a local company is likely to take up the Equis stake, owing to the current approval uncertainties.
The delays facing Anma come at a time when foreign investors are pulling out of the South Korean offshore wind market. Last month, the British offshore wind firm Corio Generation completed its exit from Korea, disbanding its local unit. The company had earlier withdrawn from its joint offshore wind projects in Busan and Ulsan.
Early this year, Germany’s RWE also quit its two projects: the 495 MW West Sea Offshore wind farm, which was set for construction off the coast of Taean County, South Chungcheong Province, and the 510 MW Neulsaeumui offshore wind farm in South Jeolla Province.
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The complex regulatory process in Korea has been blamed for these high-profile exits. However, the government has tried to resolve this challenge with the enactment of the Offshore Wind Power Special Act last month. The new law, among other things, has integrated the permitting and licensing procedures, creating a one-stop-shop system for the approvals. Previously, a developer needed to acquire a total of 28 licenses but now will only require approval from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE). It remains to be seen if South Korea can get its efforts for offshore wind energy fully back on track.
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