© Supplied by National Grid 
The Greenlink interconnector between Wales and Ireland has come online, doubling capacity to one gigawatt.
Spanning from County Wexford to National Grid’s Pembroke substation, the 504MW interconnector has been welcomed by both the Irish and UK governments.
Irish minister for climate, environment and energy Darragh O’Brien said: “I want to congratulate the team at Greenlink for bringing this critical piece of energy infrastructure for Ireland and the UK to life.”
The infrastructure connects into the electricity transmission networks of the UK’s National Grid and Ireland’s EirGrid, with the latter operating the link.
Michael Kelly, interim chief operations and asset management officer at EirGrid, commented: “This latest connection marks a vital step forward in strengthening our shared commitment to energy resilience and security and was made possible through combining expertise, resources and innovation with our UK colleagues and through collaboration with the Greenlink team.”
The interconnector is made up of two 320kV high-voltage direct current (HVDC) subsea cables and associated converter stations.
National Grid has claimed that the project “strengthens energy security”, while UK minister Michael Shanks said that it will allow both nations to achieve their “clean energy potential.”
The energy minister said: “It is important that Ireland and the UK work together to strengthen our mutual energy security, and drive forward in reaching our clean energy potential.
“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.”
© Mathew Perry/DCT MediaO’Brien added that the delivery of Greenlink is a symbol of the “ever-strengthening energy relationship” between the UK and Ireland.
“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,” the Irish energy minister continued.
“Interconnection will also play an important role in our transition to become a net energy exporter, making Ireland central to wider European energy plans.”
Last month, National Grid awarded deals to six companies worth £21.3 billion, with a further four suppliers awarded places on the HVDC converter framework, at about £24.6bn.
The move came as part of a £59bn HVDC supply chain framework.
Suppliers on the framework will go on to support the delivery of early projects, including Eastern Green Link 4, Sealink, Lionlink and other projects of a similar size and nature.
John Twomey, director of customer connections at National Grid, said: “As demands on our electricity grids evolve, interconnectors provide immense value by strengthening security of electricity supplies and improving our collective ability to exploit the renewable power produced across borders.
“Connecting Greenlink to our network ensures we can contribute to, and benefit from, that boost in capacity and resilience as we continue to upgrade our wider network to support Britain’s ambitious clean energy targets.”
