The Interconnector is expected to relieve the pressure on Ireland’s electricity supply, at least in the short term.
Cable laying has commenced for the long-awaited €1.62bn Celtic Interconnector project, which will create Ireland’s first interconnection with mainland Europe.
The project, connecting electricity grids in Cork and France’s Brittany through subsea cables, is expected to be built and operational by 2026.
Developed by EirGrid and its French equivalent Réseau de Transport d’Electricité (RTE), the Celtic Interconnector received €530.7m in EU supports in 2019.
In 2022, Irish and French leaders got the ball rolling by signing technical and financial agreements for the “historic” project.
Earlier this week, a specialist marine vehicle called Calypso, which arrived from Norway to the Port of Cork, began laying high voltage direct current (HDVC) cable along an 84km section of the route. Burial works for the project are being done by two other vessels.
When fully complete, the HVDC cable will span 500km from east Cork to the north-west of Brittany, allowing the exchange of 700MW of electricity – oequivalent to powering 450,000 homes.
The cable and burial operations are being carried out in the summer to take advantage of the most optimal weather conditions, EirGrid said.
Marine survey teams have already mapped the seabed to chart the optimal route for the cable while EirGrid is also liaising with local fisheries and marine users.
“EirGrid is proud to welcome this latest phase of works on the Celtic Interconnector project, which really shows the progress being made on this key energy project for Ireland,” said Michael Behan, the chief financial officer at EirGrid.
“This feat of engineering that will take place over the coming weeks is testament to the collaboration, innovation and care required to deliver this critical infrastructure.”
Cable installation is just one element of this strategic infrastructure project. The Celtic Interconnector’s onshore phase has already seen the installation of 10km of high voltage alternating current (HVAC) cables in roads, with HVDC cabling works currently under progress.
Meanwhile, civil works at the project’s converter station at Ballyadam, near Carrigtwohill in Cork, which began last year, are near completion.
The Interconnector is expected to help relieve some of the strain on Ireland’s grid capacity. A recent EirGrid report suggested that the new project will close the island of Ireland’s projected electricity capacity gap for 2027 and 2028, reducing the region’s reliance on emergency supply measures.
Although, beyond 2028, EirGrid forecasts capacity gaps even with the Interconnector’s added reinforcements.
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