THE FRDAY INTERVIEW - Dermot Byrne chief executive, EirGrid:THE VISTA from Dermot Byrne's Ballsbridge office is dominated by the spectacular curvilinear construction that is the new Aviva stadium.
Instead of enjoying this remarkable view as he works, however, the EirGrid chief executive has angled his desk to face a wall adorned with a stark black-and-white sketch that could only be considered beautiful by an electrical engineer.
He explains that the tangle of lines is an artist’s impression of the power plant at the Coolkeeragh power station in Derry, which he once managed during his tenure with ESB. One senses that it’s the nuts and bolts of the electricity game that really fires the Dubliner’s imagination.
“For an industry that’s been around for over 100 years, it still succeeds at being very exciting and very dynamic,” he says.
As a young electrical engineering graduate in 1973, his choice of potential employers was limited to ESB and the Department of Posts and Telegraphs (a former incarnation of Eircom). Byrne’s smile as he recounts this defining decision suggests he doesn’t regret his career choice.
After joining the State-owned energy company, he rose through the ranks and, in 2005, he was appointed as head of EirGrid.
Although an engineer at heart, Byrne wears his chief executive mantle lightly as he talks the corporate talk about the work of EirGrid, the semi-State organisation responsible for managing the country’s electricity transmission networks.
He doesn’t miss a beat when asked about objections raised by members of the public over the proposed construction of large electricity pylons by EirGrid.
In 2008 EirGrid acquired Northern Ireland’s transmissions operator Soni and together the two bodies operate a single electricity market across Ireland. A north-south channel known as an “interconnector” has linked the electricity grids north and south of the Border since the 1970s, but since the establishment of the all-island single market it has turned into a bottleneck, Byrne says.
To relieve this constraint and facilitate the cross-Border sharing of energy, EirGrid plans to develop a second north-south interconnector – using high-voltage pylons.
An Bord Pleanála has scheduled a hearing for next Monday which will provide EirGrid – and anyone objecting to the plans – with an opportunity to argue their case.
EirGrid proposes to construct the interconnector using 400kv pylons because this “is the motorway of power that we need for the future”. People living along the route of the proposed channel, which will stretch from Meath to Tyrone, have asked EirGrid to place the electricity lines underground, but Byrne is adamant that this isn’t a runner.
“Nowhere in the world is a line of this length ‘undergrounded’. It’s not feasible,” he says. “Even if it were technically feasible, it would be horrendously expensive and it would be unreliable.” However, he adds diplomatically that this is ultimately a decision for “Ireland Inc”, and not just a decision for EirGrid as it concerns a piece of national infrastructure.
“We have to do it in a way that’s affordable and reliable but that does take account of the community and environment that it passes through.”
He gives a similarly tactful answer when asked about the viability of nuclear power in Ireland. Commercially available nuclear plants are very large when considered in an Irish context. Aside from public acceptability issues, building a nuclear power unit would have “significant project risks” associated with it for an island the size of Ireland. “If the costs go awry, you’re left with a very big bill.”
He drops his corporate persona just long enough to reveal that his own view is that nuclear power has “a very strong future” in addressing climate change.
A moment later, though, he’s back on track, saying that Ireland’s contribution to the climate-change issue will probably be in the renewables space.
According to Byrne, Ireland is already on track to reach the Government target of generating 15 per cent of total electricity demand from renewable sources this year. “We have enough renewable capacity in place to deliver this year’s target.”
By 2020, renewables will have to deliver 40 per cent of the country’s electricity. For “renewables” one can effectively read “wind power”, specifically on-shore wind power, because, unlike other promising clean technology such as wave energy, this is a proven and commercially available solution.
Nonetheless, the intermittent nature of wind (eg strong one day, non-existent the next) is a problem, or rather a “challenge”, Byrne says, hastily correcting himself.
While it’s possible to store excess energy in a traditional pump storage facility such as Wicklow’s Turlough Hill hydro-electric station, this only works where the energy creation and usage pattern is stable. When dealing with an erratic energy cycle (ie with wind generation), a “massive” storage facility would be necessary. “The issue with that is that it costs a lot of money. Interconnection is another way of getting that flexibility.”
EirGrid is in the process of developing a €600 million interconnector that will link Ireland to Wales. This is on target for completion in the third quarter of 2012.
In addition, an initial feasibility study conducted by EirGrid suggests that there is a strong economic case for building a third interconnection, possibly with France, although this would be unlikely to come on-stream until the end of this decade.
The greater connectivity this would deliver would enable Ireland to export excess wind energy and import energy when our domestic supply dips.
In relation to reports this week that ESB is bidding to buy Northern Ireland Electricity (which owns the transmission network operated by Soni), Byrne is circumspect.
“The outcome of this will have an impact on us but [there’s] a long way to go in the process.”The deal would give ESB ownership of the island’s two power grids. Any such deal would have to comply with EU electricity directives relating to independence issues.
In addition to its many other projects, EirGrid is upgrading the existing transmission network in Ireland as part of its Grid25 strategy. Although demand for electricity (which is strongly correlated with economic growth) declined in the Republic by 5.4 per cent last year, positive year-on-year growth was recorded by EirGrid in the first quarter of 2010.
This could interpreted as “green shoots” or it could be due to the cold winter, he says, but either way the national grid must have the capacity to support economic growth when it finally arrives.
“We don’t have an economy if we don’t have a grid. Effectively, we’re rewiring Ireland.”
On The Record
Name:Dermot Byrne.
Age:58.
Family:married to Máire with five children
Lives:Dublin.
Hobbies:golf, music, walking.
Something you might expect:Holds a masters degree in engineering and an MBA, both from UCD.
Something that might surprise:A lifelong interest in James Joyce.
