Greenlink Interconnector is jointly owned by Element Power, a part of Hudson Sustainable Investments, and Partners Group on behalf of its clients
Image: The Greenlink Interconnector project will connect the power grids of Ireland and the UK. Photo: courtesy of Pexels from Pixabay.
Greenlink Interconnector, the developer of the 500MW interconnector between UK and Ireland, has submitted first planning applications for the subsea electricity interconnector on both sides of the Irish Sea.
The €400m ($440.8m) Greenlink Interconnector project involves the construction of subsea and underground interconnector cables as well as associated converter stations, to link the existing electricity grids in Ireland and Great Britain.
Element Power, a part of Hudson Sustainable Investments, and Partners Group on behalf of its clients, jointly own Greenlink Interconnector Limited.
The Greenlink interconnector will provide a new grid connection between EirGrid’s Great Island substation in County Wexford (Ireland) and National Grid’s Pembroke substation in Pembrokeshire (Wales), to enable power trade depending on supply and demand in each country.
In Ireland, Greenlink Interconnector has submitted planning applications for the project’s marine components the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government (DHPLG)’s Foreshore Unit.
In Wales, the developer has submitted the Marine Licence application to Natural Resources Wales.
Greenlink Interconnector scheduled for completion in 2023
Greenlink Interconnector plans to undertake separate applications and consultation processes for the onshore works for the project in County Wexford and Pembrokeshire, where the cables come ashore.
Greenlink Interconnector project director Angus Norman said: “This is a major milestone for the development of the project, marking the start of the consenting process.
“It represents the culmination of a considerable amount of technical, environmental and commercial analysis to design a project of the highest quality with valuable input from a range of stakeholders.
“Along with the recent signing of our grid connection agreement with EirGrid – another significant milestone – the Greenlink project is on a clear pathway towards the start of construction.”
Subject to approvals, the project is planned to be completed in 2023.
In March 2019, Partners Group has acquired an undisclosed stake on the behalf of its clients in the Greenlink interconnector project.
A financial close and the start of the construction of the interconnector project are expected to be achieved in the second half of 2020.