Minister in talks on wind-powered electricity super-grid

IRELAND could form part of an electricity super-grid on the western fringes of Europe supplying offshore wind power to millions of homes.

Funding has been put in place to study how the state could link up with Northern Ireland and Scotland to provide renewable energy to the rest of Europe, and sell off surplus power.

Ultimately, the network could spread across the North Sea to Norwegian wind farms, creating the super-grid.