Equinor, the pioneer of global floating offshore wind, is accelerating its strategic contraction across the Asia-Pacific region.

According to sources in South Korea’s energy industry, after 12 years in the local market, Equinor has decided to fully shut down its South Korean office by the end of the year, lay off all staff, and completely abandon its local offshore wind business. The Norwegian energy giant, which built the world’s first and once the world’s largest floating offshore wind farm, has ultimately failed to establish a viable commercial model in South Korea. The company also stated on its official website that it will no longer pursue future offshore wind business opportunities in the country.

Equinor first set up a presence in South Korea in 2014 and has since developed three floating offshore wind projects there. Its flagship project, the 750 MW Firefly floating offshore wind farm off Ulsan, won a government tender in 2024 and was once regarded as a benchmark for South Korea’s floating wind sector.

On the global stage, Equinor is a well-deserved technology trailblazer. It commissioned the world’s first commercial floating wind farm, Hywind Scotland, in 2017, and completed the then-largest Hywind Tampen project in 2023, boasting profound technical expertise and operational experience.

Yet its technological advantages have ultimately failed to overcome the harsh reality of profitability challenges.

The collapse of the Firefly project was driven by a dual squeeze on revenue and costs. On one hand, the company never secured a long-term sales contract for Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs), leaving its revenue stream without stable guarantees. On the other, rising supply chain costs meant the original fixed electricity price could in no way cover the investment, with the project’s total budget reaching 10 trillion won. In the end, Equinor chose to voluntarily return its power generation license to cut losses in time.

Beyond Firefly, Equinor had already withdrawn from the 3 GW offshore wind project off Chuja Island, Jeju. The project’s stringent requirements – mandatory connection exclusively to the Jeju power grid and an annual contribution of over 130 billion won to a resident benefit-sharing fund – rendered it completely commercially unviable. As a knock-on effect, the 200 MW Donghae-1 floating wind project, developed jointly with South Korean state-owned enterprises, has also ground to a halt. With the environmental impact assessment yet to begin, Equinor has decided to transfer all of its equity in the project.

South Korea is not the only market Equinor is exiting. In June this year, the company closed its Tokyo office in Japan. Behind its successive withdrawals from the two major Northeast Asian markets is a full strategic retreat, as Equinor refocuses on Europe, its core offshore wind market.

From a high-profile entry to a quiet exit, Equinor’s 12-year presence has ended in setbacks, serving as a wake-up call for the industry. For floating offshore wind to achieve large-scale deployment, technology alone is far from enough – a stable revenue mechanism, reasonable policy costs and a clear commercial model are all indispensable. When even the industry leader has voted with its feet, it is clear that South Korea still has a long way to go on the path to commercialising its offshore wind sector.