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Released June 19, 2019 | GALWAY, IRELAND
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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Ireland and France have officially requested funding amounting to more than 600 million euro ($679 million) from the European Commission to construct a 575-kilometre (km) power interconnector.
Known as the Celtic Interconnector, the high-voltage direct-current (HDVC) cable will travel 500 km on the seabed and will have a capacity of roughly 700 megawatts (MW), enough to power 450,000 households. Industrial Info reported that the project has been fast-tracked by the European Union (EU) as a vital European power project. For additional information, see November 27, 2017, article - Ireland-France Interconnector Gets Fast-Tracked by the EU. The project will cost roughly 1 billion euro ($1.1 billion) to complete.
It also is vital for Ireland, which only has external power links to the U.K., which is leaving the EU in October as part of its Brexit plan. It would provide Ireland's first direct electricity link to continental Europe, and both countries said the interconnector will secure future electricity supplies post-Brexit. The project has been gathering pace since 2016 after a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between Irish grid operator EirGrid and its French counterpart Réseau de Transport d'Électricité (RTE), following five years of feasibility studies.
Ireland's Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said: "The Celtic Interconnector will help to reduce electricity prices, support climate action, and provide greater energy security for Ireland. Our two countries are working together to seek EU funding for 60% of the overall 1 billion-euro cost of the project, with the balance coming from commercial revenue. I'm delighted that France has agreed to join Ireland in making this grant application, and I particularly want to thank President Macron for his personal support. This demonstrates the ever-closer relationship between Ireland and France, which will be Ireland's closest EU neighbour when the U.K. leaves."
EirGrid is seeking feedback on three possible landfall locations on the coast of East Cork for the cable as well a shortlist of six proposed locations for a converter station. In France, the interconnector will land on the coast of Brittany, close to the city of Brest.
The Celtic Interconnector forms part of an EU-wide series of infrastructure projects under the umbrella name Connecting Europe Facility (CEF). On the energy front, the EU wants to create a gas and electricity "supergrid" to help complete a single European energy market and the integration of renewable energy sources into the electricity grid. Today, the energy infrastructure is aging and is not capable of matching future demand for energy, guaranteeing security of supply, nor supporting large-scale deployment of renewable energy across the grids. Between 2014 and 2020, a total of 5.35 billion euro ($6.4 billion) has been allocated to trans-European energy infrastructure projects.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Our European headquarters are located in Galway, Ireland. Follow IIR Europe on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn For more information on our European coverage send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.eu or visit us online at Industrial Info Europe.
Known as the Celtic Interconnector, the high-voltage direct-current (HDVC) cable will travel 500 km on the seabed and will have a capacity of roughly 700 megawatts (MW), enough to power 450,000 households. Industrial Info reported that the project has been fast-tracked by the European Union (EU) as a vital European power project. For additional information, see November 27, 2017, article - Ireland-France Interconnector Gets Fast-Tracked by the EU. The project will cost roughly 1 billion euro ($1.1 billion) to complete.
It also is vital for Ireland, which only has external power links to the U.K., which is leaving the EU in October as part of its Brexit plan. It would provide Ireland's first direct electricity link to continental Europe, and both countries said the interconnector will secure future electricity supplies post-Brexit. The project has been gathering pace since 2016 after a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between Irish grid operator EirGrid and its French counterpart Réseau de Transport d'Électricité (RTE), following five years of feasibility studies.
Ireland's Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said: "The Celtic Interconnector will help to reduce electricity prices, support climate action, and provide greater energy security for Ireland. Our two countries are working together to seek EU funding for 60% of the overall 1 billion-euro cost of the project, with the balance coming from commercial revenue. I'm delighted that France has agreed to join Ireland in making this grant application, and I particularly want to thank President Macron for his personal support. This demonstrates the ever-closer relationship between Ireland and France, which will be Ireland's closest EU neighbour when the U.K. leaves."
EirGrid is seeking feedback on three possible landfall locations on the coast of East Cork for the cable as well a shortlist of six proposed locations for a converter station. In France, the interconnector will land on the coast of Brittany, close to the city of Brest.
The Celtic Interconnector forms part of an EU-wide series of infrastructure projects under the umbrella name Connecting Europe Facility (CEF). On the energy front, the EU wants to create a gas and electricity "supergrid" to help complete a single European energy market and the integration of renewable energy sources into the electricity grid. Today, the energy infrastructure is aging and is not capable of matching future demand for energy, guaranteeing security of supply, nor supporting large-scale deployment of renewable energy across the grids. Between 2014 and 2020, a total of 5.35 billion euro ($6.4 billion) has been allocated to trans-European energy infrastructure projects.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Our European headquarters are located in Galway, Ireland. Follow IIR Europe on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn For more information on our European coverage send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.eu or visit us online at Industrial Info Europe.
