Work could begin this year on a €1 billion Irish-French power line after Government licensed the project.
National grid operator Eirgrid and its French counterpart, Réseau de Transport d’Electricité, are building a 575km power line linking Cork with Brittany, dubbed the Celtic Interconnector.
Darragh O’Brien, Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, has granted the project a foreshore licence, a key permit needed for the undersea work involved. Eirgrid said that, subject to getting consent from the UK Marine Management Organisation, it expected work on the cable to begin this year.
Electricity could begin flowing between the two countries in 2026. The cable will carry up to 700 mega watts (MW) of power, enough energy for 700,000 homes.
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An Bord Pleanála granted planning permission for the Irish onshore work on the interconnector in May.
Billion-euro project
Michael Mahon, Eirgrid chief infrastructure officer, said the project was critically important for the country.
“We will continue to focus on the delivery of the Celtic Interconnector and look forward to the benefits it will bring, including allowing the movement of 700MW between Ireland and France.
The Celtic Interconnector will be the first power line linking Ireland with continental Europe. The project will cost about €1 billion. The EU has pledged to pay €530 million of this as the interconnector is a “project of common interest”, that is, infrastructure that links two member states’ electricity networks.
Electricity will flow through it in both directions, allowing Irish power plants to export output and the national grid to buy energy from France if it is needed here.
Connection with other European states is one way of helping to ensure security of electricity supplies. The Republic has been importing power through lines from Britain.
Eamon Ryan, Minister for Environment, Climate and Communications, told an Oireachtas committee this week that those imports would continue through the winter.
However, imports have been low at times recently. The Republic faces an ongoing squeeze on electricity supplies following the failure of power companies to build pledged new generators.
