Pembrokeshire County Council in Wales has approved remaining planning applications for onshore works for the 500MW Greenlink interconnector.
The subsea cable will link the power markets of Great Britain and Ireland.
Pembrokeshire County Council’s Planning Committee approved a full planning application for the installation of the second stretch of underground cables from the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority’s boundary to the existing National Grid substation, next to the Pembroke Power Station.
The committee also approved an outline planning application for development of a converter station nearby.
The approvals, which were unanimous, follow the consent on 15 July by Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority for the cabling between the Welsh landfall site at Freshwater West to the boundary with Pembrokeshire County Council.
Greenlink will be 200km when built and will help integrate more renewable energy within power grids in the UK and Ireland.
The marine planning applications in both Wales and Ireland were submitted towards the end of 2019 and the application for onshore works in Ireland is currently being finalised.
The project is expected to have a three-year construction programme.
Greenlink Interconnector Limited chief executive Nigel Beresford (pictured) said: “The unanimous approvals by members of both Pembrokeshire County Council and Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority are a reflection of the time and effort we have taken to develop a project of a high technical and environmental standard, with the valuable input of local stakeholders.
“We will now work with Pembrokeshire County Council, key stakeholders and the local community to finalise our detailed designs as part of the reserved matters process.
“We will also work to ensure that local businesses have a chance to benefit from the construction of the scheme and we will be making plans to hold ‘meet-the-buyer’ events in the local area.”