Plans approved for €1bn electricity cable between Ireland and France

National grid operator EirGrid and its French counterpart, Réseau de Transport d’Electricité (RTÉ), had been working to move forward plans for the project.

Planning permission has been granted for the Celtic Interconnector, a joint project between Ireland and France to exchange electricity by using a subsea link.

An Bord Pleanála approved plans today for the Celtic Interconnector Project, subject to a number of conditions.

National grid operator EirGrid and its French counterpart, Réseau de Transport d’Electricité (RTÉ), had been working to move forward plans for the project.

In July 2021, Eirgrid submitted the planning application for the Irish on-shore element of the project which is made up of the landfall of the cable in Youghal, cable route, converter station and network connection and associated technologies.
The subsea cable comes ashore at Claycastle Beach, in Youghal.

Claycastle beach was mainly chosen as the landfall point because of its offshore approach. Engineers say it has a sediment channel deep enough to bury the cable and protect it against fishing and shipping, without the requirement for rock cutting or rock placement.

The power cable will run undersea for 575km between the Brittany coast, in northern France, and the Cork coast. A fibre-optic link is also being laid along the subsea route. 

The power cable will then link to a new converter station at Ballyadam, in Carrigtwohill, before continuing west to a substation in Knockraha, where it will connect to the Irish electricity transmission system.

Speaking about the planning approval, EirGrid chief infrastructure officer, Michael Mahon, said: “This brings us one step closer to the many benefits this project will bring, including improving the security of electricity supply, helping to achieve our climate objectives and reducing the cost of electricity.

“Our focus now moves to progressing the project to the construction phase, subject to the planning conditions. During this phase we will carry out ongoing detailed assessments and continue to engage with and listen to communities and stakeholders.” 

In April, the Irish Examiner reported that councillors had urged Eirgrid to rethink Celtic Interconnector route in East Cork. Councillors wanted the power operator to revert to their original plan and route for their Celtic Interconnector cable along the entire length of the N25, instead of proceeding to duct it through populated areas.

The Celtic Interconnector project is being partly funded by the EU under the European Commission’s Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) Energy Programme, which saw the project receive €530 million in funding.

The interconnector has been designed to have capacity of 700 MW, equivalent to the power used by 450,000 homes.

The project is expected to be completed in 2026.