Prysmian Drops Plan to Build USD 200 Million Offshore Wind Cable Factory in Massachusetts

Prysmian has informed local authorities in Somerset, Massachusetts, about the company’s decision not to move forward with the factory for offshore wind power cables that was planned to be built at Brayton Point on a site that previously housed a coal-fired power plant which was shut down in 2017.

According to Prysmian, its entire multi-billion-euro backlog of subsea transmission projects is in Europe, while in the US, the company will focus on opportunities driven by developments such as data centres and the overall increase in energy demand.

The Italy-based global power cable manufacturer announced the plans for the manufacturing facility for subsea transmission cables in 2021 when the company secured conditional contracts for the Commonwealth Wind and Park City Wind projects, now collectively called New England Wind.

In early 2022, Prysmian said it signed a purchase agreement with Commercial Development Company (CDC) for the Brayton Point site and that the factory, which would produce export cables for Commonwealth Wind as the first project, represented a USD 200 million (around EUR 191 million) investment.

CDC, which purchased and redeveloped the site of the former coal-fired power plant, said that “the economic impact of Brayton Point’s transition to a renewable energy development will surpass the loss incurred by the closure of the coal-fired power plant”.

After signing the agreement with CDC, Prysmian continued working on the plan to bring the cable manufacturing facility to realisation, securing the necessary authorisations and permits, one of which was challenged in court last year, according to local media.

The company announced it would end the development of the proposed subsea cable factory on 17 January, according to US Congressman Jake Auchincloss, who issued a statement on 18 January saying the company’s decision was “disappointing and discouraging.”

“The factory, on the site of a decommissioned coal-fired power plant, would have created hundreds of good jobs producing the submarine cables that plug offshore wind turbines into the electrical grid”, Auchincloss said.

Congressman Jake Auchincloss also mentioned the talks about a moratorium on offshore wind in the US which, at the time when Auchincloss issued the statement, was discussed by the now-US President Donald Trump at a press conference several days prior. Auchincloss said on 18 January that the word of a moratorium was generating uncertainty, leading to companies pulling back investments.

However, Prysmian says the company’s decision is not linked to any political development and that it is a result of a strategic assessment of market opportunities.

“Prysmian is continuously evaluating market opportunities for our capacity to be aligned with demand, to best serve our customers’ needs, and to also carry out efficient and timely investments — including all relevant permitting permissions — in our growing markets, in the US and globally. As a result of the consideration, including the strong growth opportunities in the U.S. and global cable markets, Prysmian has decided to not proceed with the purchase of the land in Somerset, and therefore will not proceed with the Brayton Point project. We would like to share our appreciation for the support that we received from the state and local leaders as well as the residents of Somerset while we worked on this project”, the company said in a statement.

A Prysmian spokesperson told offshoreWIND.biz that the company’s EUR 18 billion transmission backlog was entirely concentrated in Europe and that Prysmian foresees the global transmission market to be worth EUR 15 billion per year until at least 2030, with the Italian manufacturer having a circa 40 per cent market share.

“There are excellent opportunities for growth in the US market, driven by data centres, reshoring of US industry, electrification and the overall increase in energy demand. This is fully aligned to our 4bn USD acquisition of Encore Wire in 2024”, the spokesperson said.

According to a source from within the market and close to the matter, the US subsea transmission market differs from that in Europe in terms of the demand for interconnectors, with offshore wind being a far more significant driver of growth in the US than interconnectors. Given that Prysmian had no projects of this kind in the backlog, it made the US subsea transmission market very small so the company needed to align its investment in new capacity with the demand.

In Europe, the volume of opportunities in this regard is much different, driven by both interconnectors and offshore wind, with Prysmian already having a clear and large backlog there, according to the source from the industry.