Siemens Energy to supply HVDC technology for 500 MW Power link project

Siemens Energy, together with its consortium partner Sumitomo Electric, has signed a contract with Greenlink Interconnector Limited. Siemens Energy will deliver the high-voltage direct current (HVDC) converter technology for the 190 km electricity interconnector Greenlink.

The 500 megawatt HVDC link will connect the power grids of Ireland and Great Britain. As the power can flow in either direction, depending on supply and demand in each country, it allows both countries to benefit from increased grid stability, security of power supply, and cost-effective growth and integration of low carbon energy. Work will begin at the start of 2022 following a financial close.

Siemens Energy will be responsible for the overall system design and the construction of two converter stations located close to the Great Island transmission substation in County Wexford (Ireland) and the Pembroke transmission substation in Pembrokeshire (Wales). Both converter stations will use Siemens Energy’s HVDC PLUS technology with modular multi-level arrangement (VSC-MMC) to convert Alternating Current to Direct Current and vice versa. Linked via an HVDC XLPE (cross-linked polyethylene) cable system by Sumitomo, the stations will enable the low-loss transport of energy with a voltage of 320 kilovolts. Siemens Energy’s scope of supply also includes a Service and Maintenance Agreement with an initial duration of seven years.

Partners Group purchased the 51% stake, which it did not previously own, in the Greenlink project from Ireland’s Element Power Holdings in May 2021.