$681M subsea cable plant coming to Chesapeake

A U.S. subsidiary of a South Korean cable manufacturer plans to build a $681 million subsea cable manufacturing plant in Chesapeake, the company announced Tuesday. The project is expected to create 338 jobs.

LS GreenLink USA’s Chesapeake subsea cable factory will be built at the Deep Water Terminal Site in Chesapeake, a 96-acre property located near the Port of Virginia and adjacent to the southern branch of the Elizabeth River. The plant will be approximately 750,000 square feet and will produce high-voltage, direct-current submarine cables used for offshore wind farms — the first such facility in the United States.

“LS GreenLink’s investment in Virginia will showcase the commonwealth as a leader in offshore wind industry manufacturing,” Youngkin said in a statement. “LS GreenLink has recognized that Virginia has the skilled talent, world-class logistics location and business environment that will allow it to serve its growing global customers for submarine power cables.”

A subsidiary of Anyang, South Korea-based LS Cable & System, LS GreenLink USA was awarded $99 million in advanced energy project tax credits by the U.S. Department of Energy in April, and Gov. Glenn Youngkin approved a $13.2 million grant from the Commonwealth’s Opportunity Fund to assist the City of Chesapeake with the project.

To secure the project, the Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with Chesapeake, the Hampton Roads Alliance and the Virginia Maritime Association. In addition to the state’s $13.2 million grant and federal funding, LS GreenLink is eligible to receive state benefits from the Port of Virginia Economic and Infrastructure Development Zone grant program, and the Virginia Talent Accelerator Program will support job training for the company at no charge.

“This state-of-the-art facility represents our commitment to pushing the boundaries of technology and engineering,” said Bon-Kyu Koo, president and CEO of LS Cable & System. “This facility will not only enhance our capability to meet the growing global demands for submarine power cables, but will also position us at the forefront of the industry.”

Subsea telecommunications cables have become a burgeoning industry in Hampton Roads. Virginia Beach is one of a few East Coast landing spots for subsea high-speed internet transmission cables, with a data center and cable landing station where subsea telecommunications cables MAREA, BRUSA and DUNANT connect Virginia to points in Europe and South America.

The announcement comes as Dominion Energy has begun installing monopiles — wind turbine foundation posts — 27 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach to construct its $9.8 billion, 176-turbine Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project, which is anticipated to be finished by the end of 2026. On Monday, Dominion announced its plans to buy a 40,000-acre lease off North Carolina’s Outer Banks for $160 million from Avangrid, a sustainable energy company.

Residents of Sandbridge, a beach community south of Virginia Beach, have opposed Avangrid’s plan to bring transmission cables ashore there, and the process has been delayed.