Natural Resources Wales has approved Greenlink Interconnector’s application for a marine licence for the 500MW link between the UK mainland and Ireland.
Greenlink said the licence is one of several consents required for the construction of the project and covers installation of the marine cable in UK waters.
The licence approval joins the onshore planning consents granted unanimously in July last year by Pembrokeshire County Council and Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority, it said.
Greenlink’s proposed 190km subsea and underground electricity cable will run beneath the Irish Sea to connect National Grid’s Pembroke Power Station in Wales and EirGrid’s Great Island substation in County Wexford, Ireland.
Greenlink Interconnector chief executive Nigel Beresford (pictured) said: “We are delighted by Natural Resources Wales’s decision to grant this licence.
“This marks a significant milestone for Greenlink and another important step towards project construction, which we expect to commence later this year.
“The Greenlink team has worked constructively with Natural Resources Wales and Welsh marine stakeholders to find workable solutions to the many technical and environmental challenges facing a large infrastructure project like this, and this has been reflected in the quality of the final proposal.
“The thorough environmental and technical assessments we have undertaken, supported by the practical and value-adding feedback we have received from key marine stakeholders, have ensured that we move forward confident that we are delivering a well-designed project with the interests of the Welsh marine habitat at its core.”
In Ireland, a Foreshore Licence application was submitted to the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government in 2019 and the onshore planning application was submitted to An Bord Pleanala in December 2020.
Once fully consented, Greenlink is expected to have a three-year construction programme, with commissioning planned by the end of 2023.