Clifford Chance

Clifford Chance advises Partners Group on investment in 500MW subsea interconnector between Great Britain and Ireland

International law firm Clifford Chance has advised Partners Group, the global private markets investment manager, on its investment on behalf of its clients in Greenlink Interconnector ("Greenlink"), a project to construct a 500MW subsea and underground interconnector between Ireland and Great Britain.

To date, Greenlink has been developed by Element Power, an independent renewable energy developer, which together with funds managed by Hudson Sustainable Investments, is the other major shareholder in the project. Greenlink represents a key electricity infrastructure project in Europe having been awarded "Project of Common Interest" status by the European Commission and qualifies to receive funding from the EU's Innovation and Networks Executive Agency.

Project development and procurement is under way and construction is scheduled to commence in 2020 once all necessary consents are in place, with commissioning expected by 2023. Once completed, Greenlink will improve the security of electricity supply in both countries and reduce average electricity costs for consumers.

The Clifford Chance team was led by London-based Project Finance Partner James Pay, alongside senior associates Gordon Stewart and James Shepherd, with support from Jahan Navidi, Andreas Formosa, Mayowa Kalesanwo and William Adams.