Investment for Western Ireland Grid Development Totals €240 Million

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources Europe (Galway, Ireland)--Irish state-owned grid operator EirGrid (Dublin) has appointed Tobin Consulting Engineers (Galway, Ireland) to lead a consortium to work on the first phase of a €240 million ($306 million) grid development project in Mayo County, which is in western Ireland.

The project, which is known as the Grid West Project, is part of the larger €3.2 billion ($4 billion) Grid25 redevelopment strategy for the Irish grid. The strategy is due to be implemented between now and 2025, and work will involve strengthening the existing infrastructure in Mayo and surrounding counties. One of the major goals of the exercise is to underpin the region's ability to attract investment, which could lead to expansion across a variety of manufacturing industries, as well as more opportunities to develop renewable energy.

The Irish Wind Energy Association (Naas, County Kildare) estimates that Ireland has a wind generation potential of 6,000 megawatts (MW) onshore and 4,000 MW offshore, particularly in the western areas; however, the current grid infrastructure is not sufficiently developed to handle further energy. For additional information, see November 25, 2011, article - Ireland Ready to Upgrade Electricity Grid.

Two other projects that could benefit from the Grid West development are Crystal Energy's 200-MW, natural gas-fired power plant and Lupset Investment's 200-MW, natural gas-fired peaking power plant, both of which are planned for Bellacorick, in northern Mayo.

In related news, work to repair an electricity interconnector between Northern Ireland and Scotland has fallen behind schedule and could cost up to €24.37 million ($31 million). Both submarine cables, which run between Islandmagee and Ayrshire in Scotland, have been out of action since July and August 2011, respectively. The fault in one of the underwater cables has been detected. When it is fixed, work on the other will begin. However, sea currents and weather conditions have hampered progress in the repairs, which are now behind schedule. Economist John Simpson warned: "If a power station now tripped, there's a risk that we would have the lights going out, if it was at a peak period during the day or during the evening."

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