Renewable Energy

Prysmian Group to develop new submarine cable plant for US offshore wind

July 18, 2022

Prysmian Group has received the first layer of approval of the construction permits for the development of its new submarine cable plant in Brayton Point, Massachusetts in the US.

Offshore staff

MILAN, Italy — Prysmian Group has received the first layer of approval of the construction permits for the development of its new submarine cable plant in Brayton Point, Massachusetts in the US, and it confirmed construction plans to start in summer 2023 and will last two years.

With a $200 million investment plus the purchase of the land, Prysmian plans to redevelop the site of a decommissioned coal-fired power plant into a strategic knowledge and production hub. The new plant will be dedicated to the production of high-tech submarine interarray and export cables up to 275 kV AC and 525 kV DC to connect offshore wind farms to mainland power grids. The factory is designed to start delivering 270 Km AC 275 kV of finished 3-cores cables per year. It is designed for a possible future upgrade, should the market allow.

The Brayton Point cable hub will have an R&D center with a high-voltage test laboratory, which the company said will be the first of its kind in the US.

Prysmian said its submarine power transmission cables are 30% lighter, such as its interarray cables up to 66 kV and AC export cables up to 275 kV (three-core). DC cable solutions up to 525 kV will also be available for wind farms that are very distant from the shore.

Prysmian will have 28 production plants, eight distribution centers and six R&D centers employing nearly 6,000 people in the US.

Prysmian said its US track record includes milestones submarine cable interconnection projects like Neptune, TransBay and Hudson Transmission as well as the recently awarded SOO Green HVDC link. In addition to the Vineyard Wind 1 offshore wind farm cabling project already underway, Prysmian’s order book includes the €900 million Commonwealth Wind and Park City projects awarded by Vineyard Wind and the €630 million project to link the 2.6 GW Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind farm to the mainland grid. Another project under execution is the Empire Wind interarray cable.

07.18.2022