Home Grid Prysmian drops plan to build $200 million subsea cable factory in Massachusetts
January 24, 2025,
by
Adrijana Buljan
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.
Brayton Point subsea cable plant visualization; Image: Prysmian
According to Prysmian, its entire multi-billion-euro backlog of subsea transmission projects was in Europe and in the U.S., 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 $200 million (around €191 million) investment.
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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 realization, securing the necessary authorizations 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 January 17, according to U.S. Congressman Jake Auchincloss, who issued a statement on January 18 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 U.S. which, at the time when Auchincloss issued the statement, was discussed by the now-U.S. President Donald Trump at a press conference several days prior. Auchincloss said on January 18 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,