Are you sure you don't want to just use a relay, it may be a nice easy way to do it. especially if you are only switching once every 8 or so hours.
It could be a simpler solution than using TRIACS / SCRs to switch 40A @230V (Thats a decent amount of power).
What type of load are you planning to run? Inductive / Resistive /etc., this will influence the design difficulty.
As the OP says, you may be able to use a solid state block. Sounds like a neat solution.
The digital interface side should be easy, its not too hard to amplify a CMOS output so it switches a decent Voltage/Current. using something like a BJT or Mosfet in Common emitter mode should get the job done. There are heaps of circuit diagrams on the web for driving relays from TTL Levels using this method.
hope this helps.
oddbudman