Prysmian Group has finalised an agreement to acquire 19 hectares of land at the former Brayton Point coal plant in Somerset where it will construct the first cabling facility in Massachusetts for the offshore wind sector.
The $200m facility, which will manufacture subsea transmission cables, was included as part of Avangrid Renewables’ 1232MW Commonwealth Wind project.
Commonwealth Wind was selected by Massachusetts in December 2021 as part of the state’s third competitive procurement for offshore wind power.
Brayton Point is a former 1600MW coal-fired power plant which was commissioned in 1963 and decommissioned in 2017.
The site was identified by Avangrid and Prysmian Group as an ideal location for local offshore wind manufacturing due to its waterfront industrial location and large acreage.
Prysmian Group executive vice president of the projects business Hakan Ozmen said: “We are very pleased with the progress of our project to build a new plant in Brayton Point.
“I would like to extend particular thanks to the Massachusetts state government for its attention to this important project, which will make it possible to convert the area home to the former Somerset coal plant to production in support of the energy transition in the US.
“Prysmian Group already has a significant presence in the US and the new plant will allow us to provide even closer support to our customers and gain a strong competitive advantage in a market expected to undergo sharp growth, with the goal of 30GW of new capacity to be installed by 2030 under the Biden Plan.”
Iberdrola chief executive and chairman of Avangrid Ignacio Galan said: “Avangrid is proud to be a leader in the US offshore wind industry and deliver transformational investments that create quality jobs, support local economies, and advance the development of a local supply chain for the growing US market.
“Today marks an historic milestone in the United States’ and Massachusetts’ transition to a clean energy future, as we celebrate this agreement to build a new cable manufacturing facility at Brayton Point.
“Drawing on Iberdrola’s global offshore wind experience, we are uniquely positioned to help states like Massachusetts capitalise on the opportunities presented by this new industry.”
Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker said: “The Commonwealth has taken aggressive, nation leading steps in our effort to secure cost-effective offshore wind energy that contributes to our goal of reaching net zero emissions by 2050 and provides critical energy reliability.
“The construction of the Prysmian Groups new facility at Brayton Point will have considerable positive impacts on the state, the regional workforce, and local economies and we are pleased to join so many partners here today to celebrate this milestone.”