Work on subsea cable project is continuing

Testing of the new onshore cable connections from France to Ireland have been successful.

Eirgrid’s Celtic Interconnector project will see Ireland and France’s electricity grid connected via a 500km subsea cable.

When delivered, the project will allow the exchange of 700MW of electricity, equal to powering 450,000 homes.

Onshoreworks at Claycastle Beach in Cork have now been completed, with thefinalonshore cable installed fromthe landfall point,ready forthe subsea cable from Francetocome ashore and connect into the underground cable on land.

Specialist construction methods enabled the cable to be installed beneath Ballyvergan Marsh while protecting its sensitive environment.

In parallel, comprehensive testing of the onshorecableshavebeen successfully completed,with 44km ofhigh voltage current (HVAC) and high voltage direct current (HVDC)cable installed and operationally ready.

Offshore works are steadily continuing, with cable protection and burial works taking place in Irish waters following the installation of 84km of cable last year and 97km of cable laid in French waters this year.

EirGrid Chief Financial Officer, Michael Behan said: “Reaching these milestones shows the significant commitment and collaboration byproject teams, and our contract partners.

“Since breaking ground just over two and a half years ago, 44km of onshore cable has been installed, jointed and tested. These onshore operations included horizontal directional drilling, live rail crossings and a number of river crossings, overcoming engineering challenges to ensure successful installation.”

The Celtic Interconnector is being delivered in partnership with Réseau de Transport d’Électricité, France’s electricity transmission system operator.