Wexford to Wales power connector could fetch €1bn

The Greenlink electricity interconnector between Wexford and Wales, due to come on stream this year, is being put up for sale by its private equity owner and could fetch as much as €1bn.

The 500MW interconnector is seen as a strategic part of Ireland’s energy infrastructure. The project includes a 190km subsea and underground electricity cable, two converter stations and other infrastructure in Wexford and Pembrokeshire.

As an EU Project of Common interest, it is considered one of Europe’s most important energy infrastructure projects.

It is the first privately financed electricity interconnector in Europe and has been backed by eight banks, including AIB. The project has been part-funded by the European Union Connecting Europe Facility.

It’s owned by Partners Group, a Swiss private equity group that has about $150bn (€140bn) of assets under management. Partners Group became the sole owner of Greenlink in 2021, when it bought out a stake in the project that was owned by Element Power.

Industry publication PeakLoad, which first reported the planned sale of Greenlink, said that Partners Group had recently run a beauty parade of investment banks to advise on a sale of the project.

PeakLoad reported that Partners Group has now hired UBS to advise on the sale of Greenlink. The publication noted that while the interconnector has cost about €500m to construct, one financier said it’s likely to fetch as much as €1bn when sold.

Directors of the company behind the Irish project include former ESB chief executive Padraig McManus, who’s also a former chairman of telco Eir.

The firm notes that the Greenlink project brings “significant benefits” to both sides of the Irish Sea, in terms of employment, energy security and integration of low-carbon energy sources.

“For Ireland, it provides a natural link to a wider network, which is in turn connected to the EU and Nordic electricity markets,” it adds.

Greenlink will double the interconnection capacity between Ireland and Britain and contribute to each country’s interconnection targets. It claims it will also put downward pressure on electricity bills.

In September, 2021, Greenlink awarded the engineering, procurement and construction contract for the project to a consortium including Siemens Energy and Sumitomo Electric.