Firms have been alerted to work worth \u00a3700m on an undersea electricity link between Scotland and Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n
The LirlC connector, which will run between Ayrshire and the Belfast region, will provide up to 700MW of capacity between the Irish Single Electricity Market and the British wholesale electricity market.<\/p>\n
Transmission Investment, the company developing LirlC, is inviting bids for four main packages under the scheme, each running for up to seven years.<\/p>\n
Under lot A1, worth \u00a3353m, firms are sought for the design, supply and installation of two converter stations at Hunterston and Kilroot.<\/p>\n
The stations will connect LirlC to the 275kV high voltage network in Northern Ireland and the 400kV high voltage network in Scotland.<\/p>\n
Lot A2 relates to \u00a3100m of civils and building works associated with the converter stations.<\/p>\n
A third lot, B1, valued at \u00a3245m, will see firms design, supply and install HVDC cables between the two converter stations, a route of about 140km buried underground or under the Irish Sea.<\/p>\n
The final lot, B2, worth \u00a38m, relates to cables and associated civils works in Scotland only.<\/p>\n
The project was recently awarded an in-principle cap and floor arrangement by Ofgem as well as a transmission licence in Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n
A cap and floor mechanism regulates how much money can be earned from a scheme once in operation, providing developers with a minimum return and a limit on the potential upside for a 25-year period.<\/p>\n
The project is targeting financial close in the third quarter of 2027.<\/p>\n
The deadline for requests to participate is 24 April, with a decision expected in November.<\/p>\n