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Taoiseach to open Ire- UK interconnector

Thursday, September 20 07:58:37

The East-West Electricity interconnector between Ireland and Britain is to be officially opened today by the Taoiseach and will start the process of selling and buying electricity between the two islands. The interconnector is around 260 kilometres in length and has the capacity to carry 500 megawatts of electricity between Ireland and Britain, and enough energy to power 300,000 homes.

It is the largest single piece of energy infrastructure to be built in the country since the Ardnacrusha Hydroelectric power station was opened in 1929 and will allow electricity to be bought and sold between the two countries. Eirgrid, which was in charge of delivering the project, said it had come in on time and below its E600m budget.

The semi-state company Eirgrid said the connector will help maintain the security of supply and encourage the development of renewable energy sources here. There is a substantial appetite in Britain for electricity from renewables to meet it's statutory obligations and a number of Irish based providers are poised to supply that market.