Eirgrid to use overhead lines to upgrade energy transmission grid
Eirgrid has announced that using existing infrastructure will form part of its plans for an upgrade of two major enenergy upgrade projects - the Grid Link Project and Grid West.
The Grid West project is aimed at modernising the energy infrastructure in the west of Ireland, while the Grid Link project will link power between Leinster and Munster.
The company is publishing a draft review for the development of Ireland's transmission grid this morning, which shows overhead lines can be used for the north-south interconnector.
The plan also pledges to explore undergrounding on Grid West.
There has been strong opposition to building new pylons as part of an upgrade to the grid in the southeast.
Eirgrid CEO Fintan Slye said new technologies meant that may now be avoided.
"It enables you to maximise the use of the existing underlying network and get more power across it (and do more with the existing grid," he said.
"We can couple that with a new cable across the Shannon (and) some additional upgrading around the Midlands.
"With all of those, we believe we'll be able to get a good solution for the grid link corridor that will meet the needs of the regional economy."
There has been a broad welcome for today's announcement.
The Irish Farmer's Association said the decisions on Grid Link and Grid West represented a significant response to farmer and rural community concerns in the south and west.
The ESB said the grid development strategy was an opportunity for open, public engagement on the issue, and it supported EirGrid in facilitating the debate.
