According to a decree published on Sunday in the official journal, the government announced in the public interest the plan to create the first France-Ireland electricity connection to promote the development of renewables and strengthen the security of supply of both countries.

The text of the Ministry of Energy Transition on August 26, 2022, “The public utility announces the operation to create a 320,000 volt direct current underwater and underground electrical connection between the converter station in Ireland and the converter station located in La Martière. Finisterre.”

Also of concern is an underground alternating current link of 400,000 volts connecting a French converter station in the territory of the municipality of La Martière to an existing electrical substation based in the same municipality.

Commissioning in 2026

The project, called the “Celtic Interconnector”, will be commissioned in 2026, according to its promoters, French electricity network manager RTE and its Irish counterpart AirGrid.

The link, about 575 km long (including about 500 km at sea) should facilitate the “development of renewable energies” and “strengthen electrical solidarity between the two countries”, according to RTE.

The project, estimated at around one billion euros, should also reduce Ireland’s dependence on its British neighbor in the wake of Brexit. It has been recognized as a project of public interest (PIC) by the European Union.