The Irish government announced the Greenlink Interconnector had commenced operations, having recently entered its commercial operations phase after a successful testing period.
The project has a nominal capacity of 500 MW and comprises two converter stations – one in Pembrokeshire, Wales and the other in County Wexford, Ireland – connected by two HVDC cables. Onshore, the cables are buried underground, with the offshore segments alternatively buried or laid on the seabed in the Irish Sea.
It was developed by Greenlink Interconnector Limited, a group owned by Partners Group. Siemens Energy and Sumitomo Electric served as an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) provider for the project. As well as private investment, Greenlink has secured funding from the European Commission’s Connecting Europe Facility fund. The European Commission has categorized it as a Project of Common Interest (PCI), the term the bloc gives to priority projects interconnecting energy infrastructure across the European Union.
The project took three years to build and will supply both the UK and Ireland depending on supply and demand in both locations. It is expected to increase energy security and facilitate the provision of clean power for thousands of homes and businesses.
Ireland’s Minister for Climate, Environment and Energy, Darragh O’Brien, described Greenlink as “a tangible expression of our ever-strengthening energy relationship with the UK,” adding it “highlights the value and benefits which international energy collaboration can bring.”
Greenlink has doubled Ireland’s interconnection capacity to 1 GW. O’Brien said interconnection would play “an important role” in Ireland’s transition to becoming a net energy exporter, making Ireland central to wider European energy plans. “The role of interconnection is a large part of our wider energy ambitions,” he said. Ireland's 700 MW interconnector project linking its grid to the French grid is expected to be up and running in 2027.
Michael Shanks, the UK’s Energy Minister also spoke of energy security and the delivery of renewable energy.
“It is important that Ireland and the UK work together to strengthen our mutual energy security, and drive forward in reaching our clean energy potential. This cable between Wexford and Wales will help deliver our Clean Power 2030 mission and support Ireland's renewable expansion by allowing us to trade more cheaper-to-generate clean energy with each other, helping both nations to move away from volatile fossil fuel markets.”
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This is just one more project that highlights
The friendship with the uk and the European
Member states.