Dublin firm hands in application for new cross-border interconnector

A Dublin-headquartered company has made an application to UK energy regulator Ofgem for a licence that would allow it to participate in the operation of a new subsea and underground electricity interconnector.

The project-specific company MaresConnect Limited submitted the application for the MaresConnect Interconnector that will link Ireland and Great Britain.

The 750 MW project will consist of two converter stations, one located close to the Maynooth 220kV substation in County Kildare and the other close to the Bodelwyddan 400kV substation in Denbighshire, connected by two HVDC cables under the Irish Sea.

The cable route passes underground from Bodelwyddan to the coast and heads west under the seabed across the Irish Sea to landfall near Dublin Bay and continues underground to Maynooth in west Dublin.

MaresConnect Limited, a subsidiary of Mares Interconnector Holdings Limited – an Irish limited company funded by private capital, was established to develop, construct and operate the interconnector.

The company stated it is working with local stakeholders to determine the optimal cable route and landfall site for the interconnector cables.

An electricity grid connection agreement for 750 MW is already in place between MaresConnect and National Grid’s Bodelwydden substation in Wales.

The MaresConnect Interconnector is an integral part of the MARES project, which aims to integrate 1,750 MW of new renewable energy sources and 6 GWh of pumped hydro energy storage (PHES) in Mayo in the west of Ireland to the GB and SEM networks, as well as provide increased interconnector capacity and voltage stability.

The interconnector is included in the list of European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity’s (ETOSE) Ten-Year Network Development Plan (TYNDP) projects recognizing its key contribution to realizing Europe-wide goals related to energy policy and climate change.

Once constructed, the project will allow power to flow in either direction depending on the difference between supply and demand for electricity in the two nations.

The project developer is planning to start construction in 2025, with operations expected in 2027.

With its nominal capacity of 750 MW, the project will be able to the power of 570,000 homes when fully utilised.