Environment

‘It’s a big blow’: Planned offshore wind manufacturing plant that earned Somerset a visit from Biden is canceled

The South Coast town was set to earn up to $14 million a year in tax revenue from the canceled plant, which would've brought 250 jobs to the area.

The area of an old power plant that may become SouthCoast Wind. Suzanne Kreiter/Globe staff

A company has ditched its plans to build a subsea cable manufacturing plant in Somerset at the site of a coal power plant decommissioned in 2017, which was an economic driver that has yet to be replaced for the small coastal town.

In 2022, the Italy-based Prysmian Group agreed to acquire 47 acres of Brayton Point in Somerset from St. Louis-based Commercial Development Company. Prysmian was planning to build a $250 million manufacturing plant of subsea cables, which are used in offshore wind development. 

Prysmian, which spent several years acquiring the proper permits to build on Brayton Point, backed out of the project just days before President Donald Trump took office. Trump has frequently taken aim at offshore wind and signed an executive order Monday suspending new federal offshore wind leasing pending environmental and economic reviews.

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“Prysmian has decided to not proceed with the purchase of the land in Somerset, and therefore will not proceed with the Brayton Point project,” a spokesperson said in a statement Jan. 17. “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.”

Former Governor Charlie Baker granted the project $25 million in state funding. Former President Joe Biden visited the town in 2022 in part to show his support for the project, which would have brought 250 new jobs to the town of about 18,000, according to CDC.

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“The economic impact of 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,” CDC said.

Somerset Board of Selectmen Chair Jamison Souza said the town could’ve expected $8 million to $14 million in tax revenue a year from the plant.

“Moving forward, we’re starting from scratch,” Souza told Boston.com. “We thought that this was going to be the next big thing for us to last generations … we have to reinvent ourselves again.”

Prysmian’s statement last week did not name Trump but said “there are significant growth opportunities in the United States.” The company also acquired Texas-based Encore Wire for more than $4 billion last year, according to its statement.

“It’s a big blow, not only to the town of Somerset, but to the entire region, when you have the president of the United States decide that he’s pretty much going to nix all of wind energy in the United States,” Souza said.

Souza said the town is “in conversations with SouthCoast Wind” to develop at Brayton Point.

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“We want to continue those conversations,” he said. “Somerset is business friendly, and we’re open for business, and we want to work with businesses and not to look at this as a black eye for the town.”

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Molly Farrar is a general assignment reporter for Boston.com, focusing on education, politics, crime, and more.

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