Overview of the 500MW EirGrid East-West Interconnector, considering System Design and execution-phase issues

The EirGrid East-West Interconnector between Ireland and Wales, which uses ABB´s HVDC Light® Voltage-Sourced Converter (VSC) technology, is to date the world´s most powerful VSC scheme, it is the first commercial VSC project connected to Ireland, and it is the first HVDC Light® scheme to use ±200kV cables. Ireland has plans to expand wind power generation and the link will facilitate the addition of renewables and provide the possibility to export or import energy to / from the UK market. The new link also enhances security of supply in the Irish grid, allows both Ireland and the UK access to more competition and provides black-start capabilities. This paper presents an overview of the EirGrid East-West Interconnector project, considering the Converter topology, System Design, Overview of the VSC technology used, and some of the significant execution-phase site works issues.