Hampton Roads should be a center of growth and development for the green energy economy, but it has struggled to gain traction in recent years — Dominion’s offshore wind project notwithstanding.
That could change soon. The recent announcement by a submarine cable manufacturer that it will build a massive facility in Chesapeake may well be the spark our region needs to finally ignite its potential as a hub for renewable energy production and innovation, bringing broad benefit to Hampton Roads and the larger commonwealth.
Earlier this month, Gov. Glenn Youngkin joined local and state officials, as well as regional economic development leaders, to welcome the news that LS Greenlink USA, a subsidiary of South Korean-based LS Cable & System, plans to build a new manufacturing facility in Chesapeake.
The company makes a variety of cables for use in utility networks, including those used underwater for renewable energy projects — such as the offshore wind turbines proliferating along the East Coast, of which Dominion’s project is one of many expected to ramp up construction in the coming years.
The 750,000-square-foot center is expected to cost $681 million to build and, when complete, will create more than 330 full-time jobs. Those roles are expected to be geared toward engineering and machine operators, and company officials said that salaries for those workers would exceed the industry average.
The new facility will be constructed at the Deep Water Terminal Site, a brownfield reclamation property along the Elizabeth River, and takes advantage of the area’s geography, with ready access to the Port of Virginia and egress to the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean.
Notably, because of the company’s unique manufacturing process that uses gravity to center the heavier components within the cable, the new facility will include a 660-foot tower, making it the tallest building in Virginia. (At 508 feet, the Westin in Virginia Beach’s Town Center now holds that distinction.)
All of those metrics are exciting — the millions invested, the jobs created, the wages those workers can expect — but the company’s decision to locate in Chesapeake also represents something else: validation that Hampton Roads is on the right track as it seeks to build its reputation as a world-class location for green-energy development.
It’s one thing to have natural benefits, such as the deep-water harbor, or other advantages, such as the port facilities, and quite another to leverage those attributes to build a next-generation, forward-looking economic sector.
Virginia Secretary of Commerce and Trade Caren Merrick told a Pilot reporter at the announcement that LS Greenlink considered locations in 15 states before deciding to build in Chesapeake. Officials celebrating the announcement noted the commonwealth’s highly educated and well-trained workforce, strengths that CNBC cited when it recently named Virginia the nation’s top state for business.
But it’s more than that. Virginia is investing more in business-ready site development to clear the path for companies to move from proposal to production as swiftly as possible. And the commonwealth is doing better to bring all interested parties together on projects such as this, with everyone pulling in the same direction.
For this facility, the governor’s announcement noted the efforts of the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, the Hampton Roads Alliance, the Virginia Maritime Association and the city of Chesapeake. It also outlined grant funding from the Commonwealth’s Opportunity Fund, benefits from The Port of Virginia Economic and Infrastructure Development Zone Grant Program and support through the Virginia Talent Accelerator Program.
Such cooperation has not always been the case, and Virginia has lost these sorts of opportunities to other states as a result. To see that change is to believe that the future is bright.
Few regions in the country stand to benefit more from the fight against climate change than does Hampton Roads. By growing its green-energy economic sector, our region can create a stronger employment base while reducing emissions and helping to protect vulnerable communities. May GS Greenlink’s arrival be the first of many.
