North East Wales to host key subsea energy link with Republic of Ireland

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North East Wales is set to play a pivotal role in the UK’s clean energy future, as Ofgem approves the MaresConnect project—a major undersea link connecting Wales to the Republic of Ireland.

The 190-kilometre subsea cable, which will link Bodelwyddan in Denbighshire to a substation in the Greater Dublin area, is one of five new energy interconnectors greenlit by Ofgem.

MaresConnect will deliver 0.75 gigawatts (GW) of electricity, enough to power approximately 570,000 homes, and is a key part of the UK’s push towards renewable energy and energy security.

The project is expected to bring significant environmental and economic benefits to the region, including job creation during construction and maintenance phases, and €860 million (£747 million) in private investment.

It will also provide access to cheaper energy during periods of high demand while exporting surplus clean energy when available.

Reinforcing Energy Security
MaresConnect is one of five interconnectors approved today by Ofgem to strengthen energy links across Europe.

The other projects include connections to Northern Ireland, Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands. Together, they will enable the UK to maximise the use of homegrown renewable energy sources like offshore wind while reducing reliance on volatile gas markets.

Akshay Kaul, Ofgem’s Director General for Infrastructure, highlighted the importance of these initiatives:

“As we shift to a clean power system more reliant on intermittent wind and solar energy, these new connections will help harness the vast potential of the North Sea and make our energy supply cheaper and more secure.

“With Britain expected to become a net energy exporter in the 2030s, these projects will allow us to send surplus clean power overseas while providing access to vital imports during times of limited domestic generation.”

A New Era of Clean Energy Infrastructure

In addition to MaresConnect, the projects include two pioneering Offshore Hybrid Assets (OHAs)—LionLink and Nautilus—which will directly integrate offshore wind farms into both the UK and European grids.

These assets are designed to minimise environmental and community impacts by combining interconnection and wind farm transmission infrastructure into a single system.

The greenlit projects are:

• MaresConnect: Linking North East Wales to Ireland (0.75 GW).
• Tarchon Energy Interconnector: Connecting East Anglia to Germany (1.4 GW).
• LirIC: Linking Northern Ireland and Scotland (0.7 GW).
• LionLink OHA: Connecting Dutch offshore wind farms to Suffolk (1.8 GW).
• Nautilus OHA: Linking Belgian wind farms to Kent (1.4 GW).

With Great Britain expected to be a net exporter of energy by 2030 the greenlit projects will capitalise on the growing amount of homegrown wind power by providing additional channels for exporting in times of energy surplus and importing during times of more limited domestic supply.

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