Special Act on Planned Offshore Wind Farm Sites and Offshore Wind Industry Development

This member's bill proposes a specialized legal framework to address fragmented governance in offshore wind development, which currently requires individual developers to secure approximately 30 permits and navigate stakeholder acceptance independently. The bill establishes a government-led system for identifying suitable offshore wind sites, creates the Offshore Wind Power Committee under the Prime Minister and the Offshore Wind Promotion Group under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy to coordinate permitting and planning, and streamlines environmental and marine impact assessments. It also includes provisions for supply chain activation, workforce development, demonstration projects, and international cooperation to advance the domestic offshore wind industry while supporting South Korea's carbon neutrality goals. The bill was proposed on 29 October 2024 and has since been discarded after merging into an alternative proposal.

Around the world, electricity generation using fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas is being reduced, and there is a shift toward electricity generation through renewable energy such as solar power and wind power.

In particular, considering the geographical conditions of Korea, which is surrounded by the sea on three sides, offshore wind power has the advantages that, compared with onshore wind power, it is subject to relatively few siting constraints such as noise and vibration, damage to the landscape, and the occurrence of civil complaints, and that large-scale electricity can be secured because large wind turbines can be installed.

The first paragraphs of the bill's own statement, in KWI's English translation. The full statement and bill text are in the English translation PDF.

1. Received
2. In review
3. Discarded