OMNI Features｜South Korea Unveils Onshore Wind Strategy to Triple Capacity to 6 GW by 2030

South Korea has announced a comprehensive "Onshore Wind Power Activation Strategy," aimed at tripling installed capacity from the current 2 GW to 6 GW by 2030. The government plans to accelerate development by expanding the use of public land and streamlining administrative procedures. These reforms are expected to shorten project timelines from the typical 10 years to about 6 years, addressing delays previously caused by complex reviews across 8 ministries and 22 regulations.

While offshore wind has been the country's primary focus in recent years, its dependence on large-scale infrastructure and lengthy interagency coordination has hindered rapid deployment. The new strategy repositions onshore wind as a near-term growth engine capable of faster expansion.

During the first meeting of the "Cross-Governmental Task Force for Accelerating Onshore Wind Power Deployment" on December 3, the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment outlined several policy measures. These include replacing on-site anemometer data with information from the Korea Meteorological Administration, easing environmental review rules (such as permitting development in Grade-1 ecological zones) and simplifying forest-use approvals for mountainous areas.

The government also plans to reduce the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) from KRW 180/kWh to below KRW 150/kWh by 2030 through improved siting and planning. A 100 MW pilot project will begin in 2027 to inform future scale-up efforts. To strengthen domestic industry, support will focus on developing turbines above 6 MW and raising local production of key components such as main bearings and power converters, critical after the decline of domestic turbine manufacturers from ten in 2010 to just one today.

Public acceptance will be encouraged through a "wind energy income village" model, enabling residents to share project profits and receive preferential bidding terms for community cooperatives. To enhance project financing, the government is also considering extending state guarantees (currently limited to offshore wind) to onshore projects, with guarantee coverage potentially raised to 70% of project financing loans.

Reference: 아시아경제 (The Asia Business Daily)