Greenlink

From left to right: Rónán ÓhÓgartaigh (Planning and Development Consultant – Ireland), Dan Garvey, Anna Farley (Environmental Consultants)and John Daly (Community Liaison Officer) pictured at a Greenlink public information day in Ramsgrange, Co Wexford

Greenlink is a proposed subsea and underground electricity interconnector cable of approximately 190km which will connect the grids in Ireland and the UK. The Greenlink interconnector has a nominal capacity of 500 megawatts, equivalent to powering 380,000 homes.

 
Costing approximately €450million to develop, it will provide a new grid connection between the existing Great Island substation in County Wexford and the UK National Grid’s Pembroke substation in south Wales allowing power to flow in either direction depending on supply and demand in each country.

 
In addition to the 250 jobs which will be created during construction, there are a swathe of benefits which interconnection brings including improved energy security, regional investment and competitive energy costs for consumers as well as facilitating the integration of low carbon renewable energy sources. Pending planning approval, it is intended to have the project built by the end of 2023.

 
Greenlink should be ‘shovel-ready’ in 2021. It’s a critical piece of national infrastructure which will greatly support the Irish Government’s Climate Action Plan for decarbonising the energy system.  Its development and delivery should be a catalyst for further transition from fossil fuels, not just for the South East but indeed, the entire island.

 
Further information is available on www.greenlink.ie