Ireland's EirGrid Proposes €500 Million Grid Project

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland) -- The Irish government is supporting an electricity grid project worth €500 million ($654 million) to help cope with an energy shortfall in certain regions of the country and allow for the increased use of renewable energy.

Irish state-owned grid operator, EirGrid (Dublin), has proposed the Grid Link Project, to upgrade the existing grid and construct a new power line linking the regions of Leinster and Munster in the east and south of the country, respectively. The project follows a detailed analysis of the national transmission grid by EirGrid, to identify the level of reinforcement required to ensure a secure electricity supply and to advance Ireland's renewable energy targets. EirGrid aims to build a 400kV alternating current (AC) overhead line linking the counties of Cork in the south of Ireland with Kildare in the east, via Wexford. The project will now enter the public consultation phase.

The news follows just three months after Irish EirGrid appointed Tobin Consulting Engineers (Galway, Ireland) to lead a consortium on the first phase of the €240 million ($306 million) Grid West Project in the west of Ireland. The project is part of the larger €3.2 billion ($4 billion) Grid25 redevelopment strategy for the Irish grid. For additional information, see January 9, 2012, article - Investment for Western Ireland Grid Development Totals €240 Million.

Launching the Grid Link Project in Cork, Pat Rabbitte, Minister for Communications, Energy & Natural Resources, commented: "It will provide a secure, long-term electricity supply for homes and businesses across the south and east of the country. The Grid Link Project will reinforce the electricity grid and have direct economic benefits for our local communities".

Dermot Byrne, chief executive of EirGrid, added: "This is a vital development strengthening the electricity grid across the south and east of the country that will help empower economic growth and enable Ireland to meet its renewable energy targets. The project will help enable Ireland to shift from a heavy reliance on imported fossil fuels to more sustainable sources of energy. It will also help ensure that the most efficient electricity generators in the south and east are utilised in the most effective way."

According to the Irish Wind Energy Association (Naas, County Kildare) the country has a wind generation potential of 6,000 megawatts (MW) onshore and 4,000 MW offshore, but that the existing, ageing grid cannot handle any new energy.

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