- Success in the offshore wind auction will ensure SHI’s preferred supply of 50 floating substructures for Equinor’s ‘Bandibuli (Firefly) project’.

- SHI is expanding cooperation by utilizing its offshore engineering technology and production capacities.

Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) made an agreement with Equinor, Norway’s state-run energy supplier, to strengthen their strategic collaboration as the preferred supplier of offshore wind power infrastructures.

On the 7th, SHI said it has signed on the Preferred Supplier Agreement (PSA) with Equinor for the fabrication and marshalling of the floating substructures for wind power generators which will be used in the East Sea Bandibuli (Firefly) offshore wind power generation project. 

The agreement is a practical follow-up to the collaboration plan for the project of developing offshore wind farm discussed by Anders Opedal, CEO of Equinor, who visited Korea last month, and Sung-an Choi, CEO of Samsung Heavy Industries.

Equinor is pushing for the development of the so-called ‘Bandibuli (Firefly) Project’, an offshore wind power generation project with the capacity of maximum 750-megawatt (MW) that will be located in the sea 60km ~ 70km away from Ulsan.

If Equinor wins the Auction, SHI will be in charge of fabricating 50 substructures for floating offshore wind power generators with a 15-megawatt (MW) capacity and marshalling to integrate the substructures with the towers and wind turbines. Korean government plans to proceed a bidding auction for the offshore wind power project and award a winner company within this year.

In 2021, Equinor launched a Special Purpose Company (SPC) `Bandibuli (Firefly) Energy` to win the bidding for Power Purchase Agreement (PPA).

SHI is actively responding to the growing demand for offshore wind power generation at home and abroad with efforts such as the development of a 9.5-megawatt (MW) floating offshore wind power generation infrastructure (Tri-Star Float). Meanwhile, SHI signed on the Strategic Collaboration Agreement with Equinor in September 2022 and is operating a regular consultative body while discussing medium and long-term business strategies as well as expanding cooperation.

“Samsung Heavy Industries, based on its outstanding offshore engineering technology and high production capacity, is expanding its efforts with Equinor in various fields such as oil and gas projects and offshore wind power generation,” said SHI’s official.