Unison co-CEO Byeong-ju presents the company's mid- to long-term vision of becoming a full-cycle wind energy company and achieving 1 trillion won in annual sales by 2030, leveraging synergies with Myeongwoon Industrial Development. [Unison]
Unison co-CEO Byeong-ju presents the company's mid- to long-term vision of becoming a full-cycle wind energy company and achieving 1 trillion won in annual sales by 2030, leveraging synergies with Myeongwoon Industrial Development. [Unison]

Unison, a wind turbine manufacturer, has set a target of reaching 1 trillion won ($681 million) in annual sales within four years by leveraging synergies with Myeongwoon Industrial Development, its largest shareholder and an offshore wind developer. To that end, the company plans to develop its own 20 MW turbine in line with the global trend toward larger units, while also signing an agreement with Vensys to produce 15 MW turbines domestically.

Unison recently held a press briefing to announce a mid- to long-term vision of restructuring its business and achieving 1 trillion won in sales by 2030, according to the wind power industry Sunday.

To strengthen competitiveness, Unison is conducting research and development on 6 MW turbines for onshore wind and 10 MW and 20 MW turbines for offshore wind. At the same time, the company has signed an exclusive license agreement with Vensys to produce 15 MW turbines — currently the mainstream class in the global market. Vensys was acquired by China's Goldwind in 2008.

The company cited the Lee Jae-myung administration's renewable energy expansion policy and synergies with Myeongwoon Industrial Development as key growth drivers. The Ministry of Climate, Environment and Energy aims to raise onshore wind capacity from around 2 GW to 6 GW by 2030 and supply more than 300 domestically produced turbines. Myeongwoon, which is pursuing the 340 MW Hanbit offshore wind project following the 364.8 MW Nagwol offshore wind project, is Unison's largest shareholder, giving the turbine maker in effect a secured pipeline for that capacity.

Jeong Jong-yeon, president of Myeongwoon Industrial Development, said Unison's recent sales decline was its weak point, but added that Myeongwoon's project development work could provide a springboard for growth. "If Myeongwoon handles project development, Unison supplies the turbines, and Samhae E&C takes care of construction, we will have a full-cycle wind energy group — one that can play a role in expanding domestic wind power deployment and bringing down the levelized cost of energy," he said.

Hwang Jin-su, head of Unison's business division, said the 13.5 MW turbine developed under the license agreement could be introduced at the Hanbit offshore wind project. "We plan to build a new factory in South Korea by 2028 to produce the turbines ourselves," he said.


oskymoon@heraldcorp.com