Shortlist of sites chosen for submarine electricity cable between France and Ireland
EirGrid has drawn up a new shortlist of land-based and electrical current converter sites as part of a €900m plan to lay a submarine cable to transmit electricity between France and Ireland.
The company has confirmed it is solely examining sites in Co Cork and is preparing to hold a series of public information briefings in areas, still under consideration, for the Celtic Interconnector project.
The State-owned company will be seeking feedback on a shortlist of three proposed landfall locations in East Cork for the cable that will link with electricity grids.
The sites are Ballinwilling Strand near Ballycotton along with Redbarn Beach and Claycastle Beach close to Youghal.
It is also seeking feedback on a shortlist of six proposed location zones for a converter station in East Cork.
It will encompass an industrial-type building with electrical equipment that converts direct current electricity to alternating current and vice versa.
The proposed shortlisted location zones for the converter station are in Ballyadam, Leamlara, Knockraha, Pigeon Hill, Kilquane and Ballyvatta which are dotted around the general Knockraha and Leamlara areas.
They were selected from a list of 14 options.
Each converter station location zone and landfall location was assessed against five criteria - economic, technical, environmental, socioeconomic and deliverability.
Known as the Celtic Interconnector, the submarine cable will be the first direct energy link between Ireland and France running from East Cork to the north-west coast of France.
EirGrid said, once operational, it will reduce the cost of electricity and enhance the security of supply, especially in the event of Brexit.
The submarine cable will include a direct fibreoptic telecommunications link and is expected to be completed by 2026.
The interconnector comprises a 500km submarine electricity cable. There will be a further 40km of underground cable on land in both France and Ireland.
It will have a capacity of 700 megawatts (MW), enough to power 450,000 households and will allow the import and export of electricity.
The public consultations will take place from Tuesday, April 23 to Friday, May 3 at six venues.
After the information meetings are held, the public are invited to submit feedback by Monday, June 10.
