Icelink is a proposed electricity

interconnector An interconnector (also known as a DC tie in the USA) is a structure which enables high voltage DC electricity to flow between electrical grids. An electrical interconnector allows electricity to flow between separate AC networks, or to link sy ...

between

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

via

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

. At , the 8001,200MW

high-voltage direct current A high-voltage direct current (HVDC) electric power transmission system (also called a power superhighway or an electrical superhighway) uses direct current (DC) for electric power transmission, in contrast with the more common alternating curre ...

(HVDC) link would be the longest sub-sea power interconnector in the world. The project partners for the main proposal are

National Grid plc National Grid plc is a British multinational electricity and gas utility company headquartered in London, England. Its principal activities are in the United Kingdom, where it owns and operates electricity and natural gas transmission networks ...

in the UK,

Landsvirkjun Landsvirkjun, () the National Power Company of Iceland, is Iceland's largest electricity generator. Landsvirkjun operates 18 power plants in Iceland concentrated on five main areas of operation. History Landsvirkjun was founded on 1 July 1965 b ...

, the state-owned generator in Iceland, and Landsnet, the Icelandic

Transmission System Operator File:Electricity grid simple- North America.svg, 380px, Simplified diagram of AC electricity grid from generation stations to consumers rect 2 243 235 438 Power station rect 276 317 412 556 Transformer rect 412 121 781 400 Electric power transmis ...

(TSO). An alternative proposal by Edi Truell's company Disruptive Capital Finance goes by the name "Atlantic SuperConnection", but it requires

UK government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_es ...

financing. According to

, it will take about five years to complete feasibility and other work, and if a decision is made to go ahead, construction and installation would take a further five to six years.

Status

In 2017, the main proposal for the project was still at the feasibility stage, and, , no further progress had been reported. As of 2019, the "Atlantic SuperConnection" proposal had still not obtained the required financial support from the UK government. The link is highly controversial in Icelandic politics, with a fear of

environmental effects Environmental issues are effects of human activity on the biophysical environment, most often of which are harmful effects that cause environmental degradation. Environmental protection is the practice of protecting the natural environment on t ...

associated with increasing Iceland's power supply to meet Icelink's demand, as well as concerns over increased domestic energy prices in Iceland. For the project to move forward, the

Icelandic parliament The Alþingi (''general meeting'' in Icelandic, , anglicised as ' or ') is the supreme national parliament of Iceland. It is one of the oldest surviving parliaments in the world. The Althing was founded in 930 at ("thing fields" or "assembl ...

needs to accept the construction, which as of 2022 is not likely.

Ireland variant

At the 2019

UK General Election 2019 The 2019 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday, 12 December 2019. It resulted in the Conservative Party receiving a landslide majority of 80 seats. The Conservatives made a net gain of 48 seats and won 43.6% of the popular vote � ...

, the

Democratic Unionist Party The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is a unionist, loyalist, and national conservative political party in Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1971 during the Troubles by Ian Paisley, who led the party for the next 37 years. Currently led by J ...

included in their manifesto a proposal for Icelink to make landfall in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

References

External links

Overview of IceLink, on the Landsvirkjun website
Electrical interconnectors to and from Great Britain Proposed electric power transmission systems Proposed electric power infrastructure in the United Kingdom Proposed electric power infrastructure in Iceland {{electric-power-stub

Status

Ireland variant

See also

References

External links