Rejection of undergrounding sets EirGrid on collision course with communities living in the shadow of Interconnector route

After years of data-dense reports, highly charged meetings, court proceedings and political footballing the years-long argument over the North South Interconnector project ultimately came down to one choice - to construct 135km of skeletal metal towers carrying 400KV of power over farmland, villages, schools and houses in counties Monaghan, Cavan and Meath or carve out the longest trench this country has ever seen and bury the cable underground.

Many rural communities from these three counties have always been vehemently opposed to the building of an overhead interconnector on grounds of health, visual intrusion, impact on farming and habitats and the detrimental blow to property prices and land values.

If any Interconnector was to be constructed, the preferred solution was to embed the cable, a technology that has come more to the fore in recent years than when it was first put forward as an option in 2007.

With the publication of the independent expert review on the North-South Interconnector last week - a review which held up the findings of previous reports of 2012 and 2018, those hopes have been dashed. The overhead option, the reports states, is the only viable option. Undergrounding any cable for that length (135km) will not work, it says. Furthermore, undergrounding will set the project back another five years and cost the State another €120m on top of the already estimated €270m bringing the cost of the NSI close to €400m.

The independent review also found that a proposal to alter the design of the towers to make them less intrusive on the landscape was rejected on the grounds of costs.

The tendering process for the design and fabrication of 400 pylons commenced in 2017.

Another consideration the report found favour with was that more investment (data centres) along the North East region could be delivered but only via an overhead line.

All of this now means many local landowners, farmers and communities are on an unavoidable collision course with EirGrid and ESB Networks, the organisations charged with constructing the Interconnector.

It seems inevitable that the decades long saga of the North South Interconnector is heading for "a very confrontational stage" with the North East Pylon Pressure Campaign (NEPPC), accusing EirGrid and ESB of "bloody mindedness".

"We are heading for a very confrontational stage, based on a bloody mindedness of a semi-state company to have their way and ignore the people who are more than willing to work with them if they use modern technology," said Padraig O'Reilly, NEPPC spokesperson.

"Nobody can argue that resorting to using thousands of tonnes of steel and concrete and displacing some of the best soils in the country is the way forward," he said.

Mr O'Reilly claimed the Government has been misled by EirGrid and ESB on this project. "The two companies have historically been granted powers of authority that are no longer fit for purpose in today’s world.

"NEPPC and local communities have been quiet on this issue for the past three years, but it would be a major mistake to think there is any lessening of resolve to ensure it will be undergrounding or bust for EirGrid.

Mr O'Reilly said the review published last week focuses solely on the one-dimensional technical aspects of overhead lines or undergrounding.

"It yet again fails to properly analyse the overall risk-benefit of this project on the environment, on affected communities, on landscape and heritage and on farming practice and livelihoods.

"All proposed submissions from affected communities in Meath, Cavan and Monaghan were refused outright from the beginning.

"One of its two stated objectives was to engage with EirGrid and ask to provide a list of conclusions and recommendations set out in previous reports conducted/commissioned by it .

"Let us not forget that EirGrid ruled out undergrounding from the outset in 2007 prior to informing the public about the existence of the project and without any public consultation process.

“The argument that cost of undergrounding would be prohibitive is no longer valid. EirGrid’s own statements related to the Meath-Kildare underground project argued that undergrounding is now competitive from an overall cost-benefit analysis.”

“Specific rural local communities should not bear the brunt of an ill-conceived strategy to build an exorbitant amount of data centres in Ireland compared to the rest of the world. The existing data centres power need is already higher than all of rural Ireland."

Following the publication of the independent review EirGrid released a statement saying it looked forward to engaging with local communities in proceeding the project. EirGrid has acknowledged the publication by Government of an independent review on the North South Interconnector.

“This review accepts the findings of previous reports including the 2018 Expert Commission that indicated that the North South Interconnector should proceed as planned as an overhead line.

"The North South Interconnector is critical for the security of electricity supply across the island of Ireland; to support social and economic growth in the Northeast region; and enable Ireland to reach its renewable energy targets.

"As the project has full planning permission in Ireland and Northern Ireland it will now proceed to the next phase of the project.

“EirGrid will liaise closely with ESB Networks, which will build the Irish portion of the project and the regulator, the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities on the next steps.

"There will be full engagement with landowners, local communities and stakeholders along the route as we proceed with the project."

The delivery of an overhead line carrying 400kv of electricity between North and South is still some way off but sparks look certain to fly before any pylons protrude from the Meath, Cavan and Monaghan landscape.