Construction is underway on a £500 million undersea electricity interconnector that will connect the power grids of Ireland and Great Britain, via the dunes of Freshwater West.

The Greenlink Interconnector, one of Europe’s most important energy infrastructure projects, is made up of a 190km subsea and underground cabling as well as converter stations between Pembrokeshire in Wales and Wexford in Ireland.

It will connect National Grid’s Pembroke Power Station and EirGrid’s Great Island substation in County Wexford, The project’s nominal capacity is 500MW, the equivalent to powering around 380,000 homes.

The Greenlink project secured debt financing from a consortium of banks this week which will fund construction over the next three years. The project is the first privately-financed interconnector in Europe and represents a total investment of over €500m.

Greenlink Interconnector Limited says that the new energy link will help reduce wholesale energy prices and provide greater security of supply for electricity consumers.

The company says that it will also lead to regional investment, jobs and the cost-effective integration of low carbon energy.

In Pembrokeshire, Greenlink will come ashore under the beach and dunes at Freshwater West and continue underground to a new converter station located near to the existing National Grid substation at Pembroke.

Onshore preparatory works have begun in both Wales and Ireland and the project is expected to have a three-year construction period, before commissioning at the end of 2024.

“We are delighted to see the formal start of construction of the project in Wales,” said Tom Brinicombe, Greenlink’s Welsh community liaison officer .

“Greenlink will bring important employment and supply chain opportunities and we are grateful for the constructive input from residents and all stakeholders during the design and development of the project.

“We will continue to keep local people updated on progress during the construction phase - residents will be notified of the programme of works and ahead of construction taking place in their area, and all work will be undertaken in the least disruptive fashion possible at all times.

“If anyone has any feedback or questions, they are welcome to contact me at any time, and we look forward to continuing our positive community engagement as we bring this important project to fruition.”

James O’Reilly, CEO of Greenlink, added: “We are delighted to have reached financial close on one of Europe’s most important energy infrastructure projects.

“It will deliver a range of benefits at this critical time in the energy transition, from local jobs and investment to energy security and the cost-effective integration of renewables to help the UK and Ireland meet their climate change goals.

“We look forward to working with the EPC contractors and the local community to achieve successful delivery of the project in 2024.”