LS GreenLink USA breaks ground on taxpayer-subsidised subsea cable facility

LS GreenLink USA broke ground on its new cable facility in Chesapeake, Virginia on Monday.

The subsea cable manufacturing facility is a first in the US for South Korea-based LS Cable and System, and was designed to supply submarine power cables for domestic and international offshore wind projects for a (very optimistic) projected global capacity of more than 380 GW of offshore wind by 2030.

Expected to be operational in 2028, the 98-acre facility will produce high-voltage direct current (HVDC) cables used to transport power from offshore wind turbines to the onshore power grid.

Prior to announcing the project, LS GreenLink was awarded $99,060,000 in "qualifying advanced energy project credits" (48C). Established by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and expanded under the ironically-named Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, these credits are awarded to certified qualifying advanced energy projects to encourage growth in the renewable energy sector.