A €500 million (£417m) subsea and underground electricity interconnector that will connect the grids of Ireland and Britain has completed its investment phase.

The construction of the 190 kilometre-interconnector is expected to start in the coming weeks.

The ‘Greenlink’ project comprises a 160 kilometre-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 interconnector’s capacity of 500MW is equivalent to powering around 380,000 homes, the project developer said.

In September last year, Siemens Energy and Sumimoto Electric were awarded contracts to supply HVDC cable and converter technology for the project.

James O’Reilly, Chief Executive Officer of Greenlink, commented: “We are delighted to have reached financial close on one of Europe’s most important energy infrastructure projects.

“It will deliver a range of benefits at this critical time in the energy transition, from local jobs and investment to energy security and the cost-effective integration of renewables to help Ireland and the UK meet their climate change goals.”