IN Brief:
- Ireland and Spain have signed an MoU to explore the potential development of a future electricity interconnector.
- EirGrid and Red Eléctrica are expected to support feasibility work covering technical, economic, and system planning considerations.
- The proposal aligns with European efforts to increase interconnection, strengthen energy security, and integrate more renewable generation.
EirGrid has welcomed a memorandum of understanding between Ireland and Spain to explore the potential for a future electricity interconnector between the two countries.
The agreement was signed by Ireland’s Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment and Spain’s Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge. It creates a framework for both countries to assess the feasibility and benefits of a possible future link.
The work is expected to involve cooperation between the two countries’ transmission system operators, EirGrid and Red Eléctrica, including joint analysis of technical and economic considerations and potential engagement with European network planning processes.
The MoU is at an early stage and does not represent a final investment decision. It begins the process of examining whether a direct Ireland-Spain electricity connection could be technically viable, economically justified, and aligned with wider European grid planning.
An interconnector between Ireland and Spain would be a complex project. It would require detailed assessment of route options, seabed conditions, converter station locations, high-voltage direct current technology, market arrangements, environmental impacts, permitting, and integration with both national transmission systems. Long subsea links require substantial development work before a project can move towards procurement or construction.
Ireland’s electricity system is islanded, with limited interconnection compared with continental networks. Additional links can support security of supply, provide access to wider electricity markets, and help manage periods of high renewable output. Spain has a large and growing renewable generation base, while the Iberian Peninsula remains constrained by limited interconnection capacity with the rest of Europe.
Interconnection is becoming a central part of European electricity system planning. Higher shares of wind and solar increase the value of moving power across regions with different weather patterns, demand profiles, and generation mixes. Subsea and cross-border links can reduce curtailment, improve resilience, and allow system operators to draw on a wider set of balancing resources.
The proposed Ireland-Spain work also lands as the European Union prepares further policy attention on grids. Ireland is due to hold the Presidency of the Council of the European Union in the second half of 2026, during which grid infrastructure, clean power integration, and cross-border energy planning are expected to remain prominent.
Interconnectors do not remove the need for domestic network reinforcement. Converter stations, transmission upgrades, grid stability requirements, and market design all determine how much useful capacity a link can provide. A new interconnector can create trading and security benefits, but only if the connected systems have enough internal network capacity to absorb, export, or redistribute power when flows change.
The Ireland-Spain MoU marks the start of a long technical and policy process rather than the launch of a construction project. European electricity planning is moving towards larger, more meshed, and more international infrastructure as renewable generation expands. The engineering challenge will be turning that ambition into viable routes, bankable projects, and grid assets that can operate reliably across national systems.