The huge potential benefits of a new electricity grid under the Irish Sea connecting power sources on Scottish, Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland electricity networks have been highlighted in an exhaustive study. The Irish-Scottish Links on Energy Study (ISLES) study, funded by the EU’s INTERREG IVA Programme, has found that development of an interconnected transmission network within the decade would help drive further growth in the renewables sector, create jobs, generate revenues and ensure future sustainable energy supplies by better connecting and exporting electricity.

“With a sea area that is almost ten times the size of our landmass, Ireland has an abundance of ocean renewable energy resources, potentially a multiple of the energy requirements of our own system,” comments Pat Rabbitte TD, Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources. “By co-operating with our neighbouring administrations, we can work together to create a viable market for these resources, initially across our own islands but in time to continental Europe. The study shows that we have the long term potential to reduce infrastructure costs by working together to develop a planned network design.”

Funded by the EU’s INTERREG IVA Programme, the ISLES project was a two-year collaboration between the Scottish Government, the Northern Ireland Executive and the Government of Ireland. The ISLES report contains crucial data and hard evidence to help understand the financial, regulatory and technical challenges of building an offshore interconnected transmission network and subsea electricity grid to support generation of electricity from renewable sources in coastal waters off Western Scotland and in the North Channel/Irish Sea area.

Scottish Finance Secretary John Swinney says: “This ground-breaking study highlights the opportunities and the challenges in realising our shared renewables potential. It underlines the commitment of our three governments to work together to harness the huge potential of renewable energy. It is further proof, if any were needed, of the enormous economic opportunities renewable energy provides. The low carbon economy could re-industrialise Scotland and the transmission network is an enormous part of that.”

CAPTION:

Pictured at the launch of ISLES study (from left to right): PJ Rudden, director of RPS, and Pat Rabbitte TD, Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources.

The Government has published the Offshore Renewable Energy Development Plan for public consultation. Ireland’s ocean territory is ten times our land mass size. This Plan, in conjunction with the Strategic Environmental Assessment of Irish Waters also now published, looks at offshore wind, wave and tidal energy resources and how that could be maximised in the years ahead.

Crucially, this work found that Ireland could produce up to 10 times our existing electricity demand without significant environmental impacts.

“This Government has begun an energy revolution. We have doubled the amount of renewable energy on our system and we want to go further. Every megawatt of renewable energy that goes onto the Irish national grid reduces our Eur6 billion annual fossil fuel bill, reduces our carbon emissions and creates Irish jobs,” says Energy Minister Eamon Ryan, TD.

The plan goes to public consultation around the country for 2 months where developers, investors and local communities can give their views.

The Irish Government is also working with the Scottish Government and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment in Northern Ireland, on an EU INTERREG funded project called ISLES which is examining the feasibility of offshore grid links between the three administrations. The study is examining the technical, economic, regulatory, planning and trading issues that need to be addressed to develop, connect and transport to market the major offshore renewable resources in the Region.

Ireland is also working with its European partners to develop an EU wide framework for offshore renewables. In particular, Ireland is working with nine countries – UK, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg, Denmark, Sweden and Norway, and the European Commission in the North Seas Grid Initiative which is looking at developing a ‘supergrid’ infrastructure in the North Sea and Irish Sea areas.

This work is feeding into a European Union infrastructure policy statement which the Commission intends to publish later this month. Ireland will be in a position to trade excess renewable energy on a wider European market.