From Wexford to Wales: Greenlink cable goes live

A new undersea electricity link between Ireland and the UK is now operational.

The Greenlink Interconnector, with a capacity of 500 megawatts (MW), has successfully completed testing and a three-year construction phase to enter full commercial service.

This 190km, 500MW high-voltage direct current (HVDC) submarine cable connects EirGrid‘s Great Island substation near Waterford Harbour in County Wexford to National Grid’s Pembroke substation in Pembrokeshire, Wales.

The link boosts Ireland’s interconnection capacity to 1 gigawatt (GW), effectively doubling its previous level.

Electricity interconnectors enable countries to share power, serving as critical backup sources during periods of limited domestic capacity.

The new links also enhance the ability to import energy, providing resilience against disruptions, such as those caused by extreme weather events.

The UK’s Energy Minister, Michael Shanks, commented, “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.”

Welcoming the Greenlink Interconnector, the Minister for Climate, Environment and Energy Darragh O’Brien said: “Increased electricity interconnection will be a key enabler in our growing use of renewable energy, facilitating the delivery of the necessary infrastructure to support our energy ambitions in our journey to a net-zero power system.”

“Interconnection will also play an important role in our transition to become a net energy exporter, making Ireland central to wider European energy plans,” he added. The role of interconnection is a large part of our wider energy ambitions, and State is taking an integrated forward planning approach to interconnection, which is aligned with offshore renewable energy forward planning.”

In July 2023, the government published a National Policy Statement on Electricity Interconnection. The policy outlines how a state-directed approach will ensure that interconnection opportunities will include integrated forward planning. This will enable the necessary infrastructure to unlock significant green energy export opportunities.

Meanwhile, EirGrid has launched a procurement program exceeding €1 billion for the development of an offshore electricity grid.

In 2021, Ireland committed to a strategic, plan-led approach for deploying offshore renewable energy and infrastructure.

As the nation’s Transmission System Operator, EirGrid is responsible for executing the Government’s offshore energy goals.

The extensive procurement initiative will begin on Ireland’s east coast before expanding to the south coast, focusing on Operation & Maintenance (O&M) activities to connect offshore renewable energy sources to the onshore grid.