Siemens Energy will deliver the high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission technology for the Celtic Interconnector, an electricity highway between France and Ireland. It will be the first connection between the Irish grid and Continental Europe.The project will strengthen the security of electricity supply in both countries and facilitate the integration of renewable energy sources into the European electricity grid. The interconnector is jointly developed by EirGrid, the electricity transmission system operator in Ireland, and its French counterpart, RTE. Celtic Interconnector has a total length of 575 kilometres, of which 500 kilometres of cables will run through the Celtic Sea. Siemens Energy is building two converter stations at the end points of the interconnector – one near Knockraha, located in the County Cork region of Ireland, the other one near La Martyre in France. Both can convert alternating current, as fed into the stations from the respective national grid, into direct current for transportation, and vice versa. In this way, the converter stations enable the bidirectional exchange of up to 700MW of electricity. Energisation of Celtic Interconnector is scheduled for 2026.
