The cable runs between EirGrid'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 in Ireland and at Freshwater West beach near Castlemartin in Wales. The total length is 200km (120 miles), of which 160km (100 miles) 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 2026 it was widely reported that during the project design phase, the landfall at Freshwater West beach in Pembrokeshire had to be re-routed to avoid the fictional grave of Dobby the House Elf from the Harry Potter films.
In April 2020, the Greenlink Interconnector Limited 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. As of March 2021[update], 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 full operations beginning on 29 January 2025. The link was officially launched in April 2025.
