Greenlink is a 190km long 500MW
high-voltage direct current
A high-voltage direct current (HVDC) electric power transmission system uses direct current (DC) for electric power transmission, in contrast with the more common alternating current (AC) transmission systems. Most HVDC links use voltages betwe ...
(HVDC)
submarine power cable
A submarine power cable is a transmission cable for carrying electric power below the surface of the water.[County Wexford
County Wexford () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. Named after the town of Wexford, it was ba ...]
in Ireland and
Pembrokeshire
Pembrokeshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and otherwise by the sea. Haverfordwest is the largest town and ...
in Wales.
Route
The cable runs between
EirGrid
EirGrid plc is the state-owned electric power transmission operator in Ireland. It is a public limited company registered under the Companies Acts; its shares are held by the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications. It is one ...
's Great Island substation in County Wexford, and
National Grid's Pembroke substation in Pembrokeshire, with the cable making landfall at
Baginbun Beach near
Fethard-on-Sea
Fethard-on-Sea or Fethard () is a village in southwest County Wexford, Ireland. It lies on the R734 road on the eastern side of the Hook peninsula, between Waterford Harbour and Bannow Bay. The village is in Fethard civil parish and partl ...
in Ireland and at
Freshwater West beach near
Castlemartin in Wales. The total length is , of which is under the sea.
Specification
The HVDC link is configured as a
symmetrical monopole, with DC voltages of ±320kV, and nominal power rating of 500MW. The project is expected to cost €400million.
Project history
Subsea surveys were undertaken in 2018, and public consultations in 2019.
In April 2020, the company submitted three planning applications for onshore construction in Wales.
The project still required planning permission and marine licences in both the United Kingdom and in Ireland, but the process of procuring construction contracts had started.
In March 2021, the project was granted a licence to install the sea cable in UK waters, with a similar licence for Irish waters still pending. , commissioning of the interconnector was planned for the end of 2023.
In January 2022, construction work on converter stations started.
In March 2022, the company announced that it had reached financial close,
and offshore construction commenced in May 2022.
Construction and trial operation was completed in August 2024,
with testing of the link commencing in December 2024 and operationalizing on 29 January 2025. The link was officially launched in April 2025.
See also
*
Energy in Ireland
Ireland is a net energy importer. Ireland's import dependency decreased to 85% in 2014 (from 89% in 2013).
The cost of all energy imports to Ireland was approximately €5.7 billion, down from €6.5 billion (revised) in 2013 due mainly to ...
*
Energy in the United Kingdom
Total energy consumption in the United Kingdom was 142.0million tonnes of oil equivalent (1,651TWh) in 2019. In 2014, the UK had an energy consumption ''per capita'' of 2.78tonnes of oil equivalent (32.3MWh) compared to a world average of 1 ...
*
Electricity sector in Ireland
*
Electricity sector in the United Kingdom
The National Grid covers most of mainland Great Britain and several of the surrounding islands, and there are interconnectors to Northern Ireland and to other European countries. Power is supplied to consumers at 230 volts AC with a frequen ...
*
Moyle Interconnector and
East–West Interconnector, existing 500MW interconnectors across the Irish Sea
*
Celtic Interconnector, 700MW cable project to connect Ireland and France
References
{{reflist
External links
Company websiteInformation brochure: October 2021Planning and consultation documents
Electrical interconnectors to and from the island of Ireland
Electrical interconnectors to and from Great Britain
HVDC transmission lines
Proposed electric power transmission systems
Electric power infrastructure in the Republic of Ireland
Electric power infrastructure in Wales