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EirGrid has selected a site in Ballyadam near Carrigtwohill in East Cork on which to build a converter station for the Celtic interconnector.
The converter station is a key component of the € 1 billion electricity project.
The site was chosen from a short list of three after a series of technical studies and consultations with local communities in East Cork.
In addition to the site in Ballyadam, two sites near Knockraha were consulted as possible locations for the converter station, an industrial-type building with electrical equipment that converts direct current electricity to alternating current and vice versa.
The consultation process resulted in a preference for Ballyadam as the most appropriate location for the new station given the existing and anticipated industrial and commercial activity in the area.
The site is 10 kilometers by road from the Knockraha electrical substation, a strong node in the national electricity transmission network and the final connection point for the interconnector.
The Ballyadam site is located on IDA owned property and is situated between Carrigtwohill and Midleton, north of the N25 Cork to Waterford road and south of the Cork to Midleton rail line.
Mark Foley, CEO of EirGrid, commented: “We received more than 1,000 responses to our most recent public inquiry. There was support for additional studies and evaluations in Ballyadam, and many of those surveyed supported it as the most appropriate location for the converter station, given the industrial and commercial activity in the area. ”
Over the past few months, site-specific assessments have been conducted at Ballyadam. Along with previous studies and site investigations in the area, we identified a feasible location within the site for the converter station.
Mr. Foley added: “Considering the particular constraints of each site and a variety of criteria – technical, environmental, economic, social and deliverable – Ballyadam has been identified as the best performing option for the station site. converter. It will be presented as the best performing converter station site to the next stage of the project, the planning process. ”
The Celtic Interconnector is a planned submarine link that will allow the exchange of electricity between Ireland and France.
EirGrid has been working with its French equivalent Réseau de Transport d’Electricité (RTÉ) to find the best way to develop the interconnector for the benefit of electricity customers and markets in Ireland, France and the EU.
Celtic Interconnector is co-financed by EirGrid and RTÉ with significant co-financing from the EU. In 2019, the Connecting Europe Mechanism of the European Commission awarded a concession of 530.7 million euros for the design and implementation of the project.
Interconnector power cables come ashore in Ireland at Claycastle Beach in Youghal. From there they will travel underground to the Ballyadam converter station and then to the Knockraha substation, also via underground cables.
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