Greenlink electricity interconnector between Wexford and UK sold in €1bn deal

Undersea power cable entered operations in January and will have a projected capacity to power 380,000 homes

Greenlink Interconnector chief executive James O'Reilly said the company is looking forward to working with Equitix and Baltic Cable as the interconnector project enters its commercial operations phase. 

The Greenlink undersea electricity interconnector cable which runs between Wexford and the UK has been purchased by Equitix and Baltic Cable in a deal estimated to be worth €1bn.

The agreement with the private developers of the project, Partners Group, will take over the 504 MW electricity interconnector which runs from Wexford to Pembrokeshire on the Welsh coast, and which is likely to have a capacity to power 380,000 homes.

Greenlink is the first privately financed interconnector project in Europe, developed by the Partners Group a Swiss-US publicly listed private investment group with more than €137m in assets under management. The cable runs between EirGrid's Great Island substation in Wexford and the UK’s National Grid's Pembroke substation, using high-voltage direct current (HVDC) technology, which is efficient for long-distance power transmission. The €500m construction began in 2022, and the interconnector is now fully operational, bringing its first electricity to market on January 29 this year.

The new owners are Equitix - an investment firm with more than £11.5bn (€13.6bn) in assets under management based in 22 countries - and Baltic Cable, a Swedish firm which has operated an underwater interconnector between Sweden and Germany for 30 years.

“We are extremely delighted with our investment in Greenlink, a major regulated asset of critical importance that enhances energy security and facilitates the integration of lower-carbon energy sources in Europe,” said Equitix chief investment officer Achal Bhuwania. “Leveraging our decade-long experience in transmission assets and our complementary partnership with Baltic Cable, we are committed to driving Greenlink’s continued success for the benefit of all stakeholders.” 

Greenlink chief executive James O’Reilly, who has led the project’s development over the past five years having joined from Phelan Energy Group, said Greenlink has successfully completed the development and construction phases under the ownership of Partners Group. “We are now entering the commercial operations phase, and the Greenlink team is looking forward to working with our new owners Equitix and Baltic Cable over the long term,” Mr O’Reilly said.