Green Light for Ireland-France Power Link

Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Three years after receiving funding from the European Commission (EC), a 1 billion euro (US$1.1 billion) power link between Ireland and France has received the green light.

Ireland's planning authority, An Bord Pleanála, has granted permission for the Celtic Interconnector project, a 500-kilometer (km) high-voltage direct-current (HDVC) undersea cable that will have a capacity of roughly 700-megawatts (MW), enough to power 450,000 households. The project is being developed by Irish grid operator EirGrid and its French counterpart Réseau de Transport d'Électricité (RTE), following five years of feasibility studies.

The interconnector will link the north coast of Brittany and the south coast of Ireland and is seen as vital for Ireland's energy security. Once the U.K. left the European Union (EU) via the Brexit process, Ireland was left with no electricity interconnection with any other member of the EU. Subject to some planning conditions and related permits pending, the partners want to push ahead with construction with the goal of commissioning in 2026.

"This brings us one step closer to the many benefits this project will bring, including improving the security of electricity supply, helping to achieve our climate objectives and reducing the cost of electricity," said EirGrid chief infrastructure officer, Michael Mahon. "A lot of people have been involved in this project and we recognise especially the input of communities in East Cork who have provided important feedback and engaged constructively with the project team. Our focus now moves to progressing the project to the construction phase, subject to the planning conditions. During this phase we will carry out ongoing detailed assessments and continue to engage with and listen to communities and stakeholders."

In 2019, the project benefitted from funding of 530 million euro ($568 million) from Europe's Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) after being classed as a high-priority energy infrastructure project, or "Project of Common Interest" (PCI). For additional information, see October 22, 2019, article--Vital Ireland-France Power Link Secures Funding. At the recent launch of the EU's REPowerEU strategy--a massive 300 billion euro (US$316 billion) plan to cut Europe's reliance on Russian oil and gas--800 million euro (US$857 million) was made available to the CEF programme. The funding, available for co-financing grants for studies or for works, will be competed for by 67 electricity transmission and storage projects, 20 gas projects, six CO2 network projects and five smart grids projects. For additional information, see May 19, 2022, article--Europe Proposes $220 Billion Boost To End Reliance on Russian Energy.

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