No role for Government in interconnector - Ryan

There is no role for the Government in deciding whether the North South Interconnector goes underground or overground, the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment Eamon Ryan has told Meath County Council.

At last November’s meeting of the council a notice of motion tabled by Sinn Fein Cllr Michael Gallagher had called on the council to write to the Minister expressing the council’s opposition to the overgrounding of the interconnector.

In his reply Mr Ryan said that the interconnector was critical to improving the efficient operation of the all-island integrated Single Electricity Market and increasing security of electricity supply in Ireland and Northern Ireland. It would also facilitate the achievement of the goal of generating 80 per cent of our electricity from renewable sources by 2030, the Minister said.

He said that all options of undergrounding had been “comprehensively assessed” on several occasions and the key finding from the International Expert Commission’s report of October 2018 was that an overhead line remained the most appropriate option for this critical infrastructure.

Notwithstanding that, he said, a further short review had been carried out and it was found that the overall finding from the 2018 report remained valid and a financial assessment, relative to the value of the project, was conducted. That, too, concluded that the 2018 report remained valid. He said that it was also found that the interconnector could not be undergrounded because it would not provide the reliability and stability that was required.

The North South Interconnector was a transmission project and was being undertaken by EirGrid as transmission system operator. “The Government does not have any role in the delivery of electricity infrastructure on the ground”, Mr Ryan told the council.