A new interconnector will link the Irish and GB markets at the end of 2024, after Greenlink Interconnector Limited (GIL) announced financial close on the €500 million project. Partners Group, which owns Greenlink on behalf of its clients, said it has secured debt financing for the project with a consortium of banks to fund construction.

The 500MW 190km link has been granted ‘cap and floor’ agreements by Ofgem in Great Britain and the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities (CRU) in Ireland. It comprises a 160km subsea high-voltage direct current (HVDC) cable, two converter stations, a tail station at Great Island in Wexford, Ireland, and onshore cable works in Wexford and Pembrokeshire.

The contract for the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) was awarded in September last year to a consortium of Siemens Energy and Sumitomo Electric Industries. The project will have a three-year construction period, before commissioning at the end of 2024. The EPC contractors have held ‘meet-the-buyer’ events in Wales and Ireland to engage with potential suppliers.