Linklaters advises on €500m financing of Greenlink Interconnector between Ireland and Great Britain
Linklaters has advised Greenlink Interconnector Limited and leading global private markets firm Partners Group AG on the €500m financing and regulatory arrangements for the Greenlink Interconnector project, a 500MW 190km subsea and underground electricity interconnector that will connect the power grids of Ireland and Great Britain (GB).
The Greenlink project comprises a 160km subsea high-voltage direct current (HVDC) cable system, two converter stations, a tail station at Great Island in Wexford, Ireland, and onshore cable works in Wexford and Pembrokeshire, Wales. The project’s nominal capacity of 500MW is equivalent to powering around 380,000 homes.
The project is the first privately financed interconnector in Europe supported under the Cap and Floor regulatory regimes in the UK and Ireland which will provide the project with a maximum (cap) and minimum (floor) regulated revenue stream, with the floor payments supported by electricity consumers in GB and Ireland.
The contract for the engineering, procurement and construction was awarded in September last year and onshore works have begun. The project will have a three-year construction period, before commissioning at the end of 2024. Partners Group, which owns Greenlink on behalf of its clients, secured debt financing for the project with a consortium of banks to fund construction.
The Linklaters team was led by partners Charlotte Morgan and Ross Schloeffel, and managing associate Maryam Adamji, who were supported by associates Isabella Sullivan and Imogen Ormerod.
Ross Schloeffel, commented:
“The Greenlink project is a landmark development for the European energy sector and is paramount in delivering greater security for electricity consumers in GB and Ireland, as well as keeping a downward pressure on energy prices. We are proud to have supported Greenlink and Partners Group and look forward to watching the progress of the project as it enters the construction phase.”
Maryam Adamji, commented:
“We are delighted to have supported Greenlink and Partners Group on this milestone transaction. As the first electricity interconnector to be project financed under the GB cap and floor regime, the transaction demonstrates the investor and lender confidence in the regime. The project is also an important step towards meeting the UK’s ambition for a pipeline of projects to increase interconnector capacity three-fold by 2030 and enhancing the flexibility of our energy system.”
Linklaters' global Energy & Infrastructure team is known for its strength in advising on complex, large scale transactions. The deal demonstrates Linklaters’ combined financing and energy regulation capability and expertise in the regulated energy sector.
