IRELAND EXTENDS WIRES FOR WIND

Ireland Expands Transmission Capacity
Pete Browne, September 29, 2009 (NY Times)

"Planning permission was granted this month to build a 500-megawatt interconnector linking the national electric grids in Ireland and Wales. The interconnector will enable a two-way transmission of power – through submarine cables stretching 110 miles under the Irish Sea – with the capacity to supply 300,000 homes with electricity.

"The project represents an investment of $880 million, and will be financed by the Irish state-owned electricity transmission operator EirGrid, with a $160 million contribution from the European Union..."

Route of the newly financed transmission. (click to enlarge)

"A converter station will be built in Woodland in Meath County, and the cables will reach the coast at Rush, in County Dublin, before making the undersea crossing to Barkby Beach in North Wales.

"The Swedish engineering firm ABB secured the contract for the construction, which is predicted to take two years beginning in 2010..."

Now Ireland can not only move away from fossil fuels but export its wind riches as well. (click to enlarge)

"According to a report by Sustainable Energy Ireland, a group that promotes the development of renewable energy, the country is currently over 90 percent dependent on imported fossil fuels...

"Ireland currently has an ambitious goal of producing 40 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020 — twice that of the European Union’s current ambitions. That target looked in doubt after reports that the Irish grid did not have the capacity to reach this goal."