Celtic Interconnector between Ireland and France: Next milestone reached

France and Ireland have taken a further important step in constructing the Celtic Interconnector, an underwater electricity connection linking the two EU countries. The contract signature for this EU Project of Common Interest (PCI) was witnessed today in Paris by the respective Ministers for Energy – France’s Agnès Pannier-Runacher and Ireland’s Eamon Ryan – in the presence of European Commission Deputy Director General for Energy, Mechthild Wörsdörfer. The signature was also recognised at a meeting between President Emmanuel Macron and Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin.

Welcoming this further step, Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson said:

In the current energy market situation and the need to move away from imports of Russian fossil fuels, European energy infrastructure has become more important than ever. The Celtic Interconnector is of paramount importance as it will end Ireland’s isolation from the Union’s power system and ensure a reliable high-capacity link improving the security of electricity supply and supporting the development of renewables in both Ireland and France.

Today’s signature is the next important milestone in the project to develop this new electrical link between France and Ireland by 2027, with an approximate length of 600 km and a capacity of 700 MW, enough to power 450,000 households. In 2019, the project was awarded a Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) grant worth €530 million to support construction works – one of the biggest CEF grants for works. This followed on from a feasibility study and the initial design and pre-consultation for interconnector, which were also carried out with the support of the CEF programme, with a total amount of €8.3 million.

Background

Projects of Common Interest are key cross border infrastructure projects that link the energy systems of EU countries. They help the EU achieve its energy and climate policy objectives for affordable, secure and sustainable energy for all Europeans, and ultimately, the full decarbonisation of our economy by allowing energy to flow freely from where it is produced to where it is needed, from one Member State to the other.

Related links

• Projects of Common Interest
• Key cross border infrastructure projects
• Energy infrastructure