(Bloomberg) -- A delayed US offshore wind farm has Nexans SA looking to Europe for buyers for its undersea electric cables made in South Carolina, Chief Executive Officer Christopher Guérin said.
The Charleston factory had been scheduled to make cables in 2026 for Equinor ASA to connect one of its US offshore wind farms that was delayed, he said in an interview. So Nexans is offering the excess production capacity to offshore wind developers in Europe, where there’s strong demand for underwater high-voltage cables.
“All nations are waking up at the same time, asking for the same thing,” Guérin said. “So each time there is a delay in one country, it’s an opportunity for another one.”
The world desperately needs undersea cables, both for connecting offshore wind farms to land and for carrying clean energy between countries. Meanwhile, the US offshore wind industry continues to face difficulties including inflation and the threat of a second Trump administration hostile to offshore wind.
Equinor in January announced a delay in its Empire Wind 2 farm off the coasts of New York and New Jersey. Nexans is currently making the cables for Empire Wind 1, which will power more than 500,000 New York homes, according to the company.
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