New works to begin in East Cork as part of the €1.6bn Celtic Interconnector project
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A number of new works are set to commence in East Cork as part of the €1.6bn Celtic Interconnector project which will bring electricity from France into Ireland.
EirGrid, which is in charge of the project, has confirmed work is about to start on laying cables adjacent to the N25 between the Two Mile Inn, east of Midleton on to Youghal. However, the cables will be skirted around Castlemartyr and Killeagh to avoid any traffic disruption in those villages.
In the meantime, Siemens Energy and its sub-contractors are preparing to start construction of a converter station at the former Amgen site at Ballyadam, Carrigtwohill.
The electricity will be transmitted from Brittany via a submarine cable which will make landfall at Claycastle, Youghal.
To make transmission more effective it will be sent as Direct Current (DC) and it will have to be converted at the Ballyadam site into Alternating Current (AC) to be compatible with the national grid supply.
EirGrid liaison officer Michelle Walsh said that in the meantime maritime surveys have been completed along the route of the submarine cable.
“A vessel has now been mobilised to carry out pre-trenching and boulder clearance along the route,” she said.
Ms Walsh added that work has also commenced at the newly named Gogganstown 400 kV (KiloVolt) substation, adjacent to the ESB Knockraha 220 kV substation.
This is a single transformer substation, where the 400 kV electrical supply from the interconnector will be transformed down to 220 kV, before connecting into the national grid.
Ms Walsh said trenching of cables has been completed between Knockraha and Ballyadam.
“A two-step road reinstatement process is being implemented across the project area. This specialised work is under way and making progress weekly,” she said.
All the work on the project is on schedule and the electricity from France is expected to start to flow into the national grid in 2027.
Alongside construction works, funds from the first phase of the Celtic Interconnector Community Benefit Fund worth nearly €840,000 have been provided to 29 successful projects across communities in East Cork.
“The engagement by stakeholders, communities and the fisheries sector to date, has enabled this project to continue moving forward. Their invaluable input, and the collaboration of our partners, including our French co-developer Réseau de Transport d'Électricité, have been instrumental in progressing this transformative energy project,” EirGrid chief infrastructure officer Michael Mahon said.