100 wind turbines for South Korea

A consortium of four Korean companies has announced plans to erect 100 wind turbines in the country by 2012. The KRW 900 billion (US$ 660 million) scheme will be undertaken by Hyundai Heavy Industries, Hyosung, Samhyop and Korea Southern Power.

The consortium is reportedly looking at on- and off-shore sites for the wind farms, which will have a generating capacity of 200 MW.

As part of the project, Hyundai will build a new factory in Gunsan City, South Korea to manufacture wind turbines. The KRW 106 billion (US$ 78 million) factory will have the initial annual capacity to produce turbines capable of generating 600 MW in the early years. Hyundai said it would like to increase this to 800 MW by 2013.

The company cited a study by Denmark's BTM Consult that found global wind generating capacity stood at 19,8 GW in 2007. The market is expected to be worth US$ 250 billion by 2017, compared to US$ 31 billion in 2007.