Irish Government announces major interconnector expansion

The Irish Government has announced plans to develop up to five new power interconnectors to mainland Europe and the UK. In particular, the Irish Government have proposed an additional connection to Great Britain by 2030, a further link to France and links to Spain, and Belgium or the Netherlands. These links are in addition to the Celtic Interconnector from County Cork to Brittany, France, and the Greenlink from County Wexford to Pembroke, Wales, which Linklaters advised on (for more information on Greenlink, please see here Linklaters advises on EUR500m financing of Greenlink Interconnector).

Ireland will establish an Offshore Transmission Strategy with a 5-year update cycle and aim to surpass the EU's 15% interconnectivity target. A structured framework will be developed to align future interconnector projects, while political agreements with EU Member States and a Memorandum of Understanding with the UK will support the additional connections.

According to the National Policy Statement released by the Irish Government, increased interconnectivity offers numerous benefits such as improved market access, consumer benefits, decarbonisation, grid resilience, and energy security. The Government also suggested that the multibillion-euro expansion would enable Ireland to become a net energy exporter and facilitate further offshore renewable energy development.

The announcement by the Irish Government further demonstrates the increasingly important role that interconnectors play in balancing the electricity supply and demand between countries and offer a valuable backup power supply when electricity systems have reduced capacity.

Linklaters has the leading interconnector practice, having advised on the first two privately financed interconnector projects in Europe (Greenlink and NeuConnect) and have also advised on almost all of the UK interconnector projects and many more across Europe. Please get in touch if you would like to discuss.