One of Ireland’s greatest climate action success stories is the growth of renewable power generation. Last year, renewables accounted for more than 40 per cent of electricity generation, up 2 per cent on the previous year, according to figures produced by the Environmental Protection Agency. However, our growing reliance on renewables also comes with risks.
But there are times when the wind doesn’t blow, and the sun doesn’t shine, and the electricity system needs access to backup capacity. The great majority of that capacity is provided by traditional fossil fuel generating stations, but a significant proportion comes through the interconnector with Britain, which supplied 9.5 per cent of our electricity needs in 2023, according to Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland statistics.
Interconnection capacity is set to increase quite significantly when construction work on the €1.6 billion Celtic Interconnector project is complete in 2026. Jointly developed by EirGrid and its French equivalent Réseau de Transport d’Electricité (RTE), the 700MW, 575km cable will have the capacity to supply electricity to 450,000 homes.
“Ireland has ambitions to maximise its renewables portfolio, and we require occasional support from our neighbours in doing so,” explains EirGrid head of interconnection John Ging. “A safe, secure supply of electricity from our neighbours helps to facilitate our transition to a low-carbon future. That support is bilateral. There will be times when the renewable power generated here exceeds our own needs and it can be exported through the interconnectors.”
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Interconnections also provide important diversity of supply sources. “It’s not just a single source,” says Ging. “Other countries may be interconnected to that source, and they can provide support as well.”
That diversity is important for availability of supply. Ging explains that demand profiles differ with Ireland having a peak load during daytime and a drop off at night when wind resources tend to be at their highest. Time zones also make a difference. Interconnectors can help to smooth supply and demand variations.
The Celtic Interconnector will also enable Ireland’s reintegration into the European electricity market – a link severed as a consequence of Brexit. “Electricity markets work on scarcity,” says Ging. “If supply is scarce the price is high, if there is an abundance it is low. That’s how it works in theory. Interconnection facilitates the flow of power from where it is abundant to where it is scarce. Ultimately, we are working towards an EU price model with a single price across Europe. Power imports are driven by price signals. What a rational market should do is equalise price and optimise sources.”
The Celtic Interconnector is unlikely to be the last project of its kind. “The department launched a strategy last year which set an objective of reaching and then surpassing the EU target of interconnectivity providing of 15 per cent generation capacity,” Ging points out.
The strategy also set out ambitions for a second connection to France by the middle of the next decade, a connection to Spain, if feasible considering the practical geographical challenges, a connection to Belgium, and a further connection to Great Britain.
“A number of discussions have been held between transmission system operators in relation to the benefits of future interconnector projects,” says Ging. “EirGrid is part of a European group looking at that.”
Another beneficiary of the Celtic Interconnector project is the Ulysses scheme which aims to foster new collaborations between Ireland and France-based researchers by providing seed funding for reciprocal travel visits. The scheme facilitates the exchange of innovative ideas and approaches across all disciplines.
“The scheme was set up back in the 1990s by the Irish Research Council and its equivalent in France,” says Ging. “It is supported by diplomatic missions in both countries with the aim of improving relations with our nearest EU neighbour. It supports research collaborations between universities in the two countries from undergraduate level all the way up to senior academics. That’s something close to our heart at EirGrid and RTE has a similar view.”
A Ulysses award involves researcher based in Ireland travelling to France and researchers based in France travelling to Ireland. Awards up to a maximum of €5,000 each are given to the lead Ireland and the lead France-based research partner to cover travel and living expenses.
EirGrid and RTE have come together to fund suitably aligned research projects. “I’m part of the selection committee for funding,” adds Ging. “The scheme also holds an annual event to showcase the best of Ireland-France collaboration. That began two years ago on the 100th anniversary of Bloomsday.”
This year’s conference was held in Iveagh House in Dublin and addressed the topic of marine biodiversity and resources in a changing environment. “It looked at the links between human activities and marine biodiversity and how coastal communities can adapt to the changing environment. That provide valuable learnings for both EirGrid and RTE.”