The ESB is set to invest almost €4 billion over the next four years in modernising electricity transmission and distribution networks.
Speaking at the Energy Ireland Conference in Dublin today, the Minster for Communications, Mr Dermot Ahern announced new legislation aimed at fastracking the rollout of the electricity network around the State.
Mr Ahern warned that Ireland can no longer "afford the luxury of waiting years for the planning process to run its course while critical infrastructure remains undelivered."
A programme of infrastructural investment to attract industrial and commercial investment is being pursued by the ESB, including installing a new 49 kilometre 220kV Transmission line linking Galway city to a new substation near Portumna. This will bring power directly into the west from the Moneypoint station.
The Minister also said that projects currently underway in Dublin should greatly increase the high voltage capacity of the city, enhancing its attractiveness for international investment.
Mr Ahern also told the conference that he would make a decision soon on the proposed Wales-Ireland electricity interconnector, with the final costs of the project expected to run into hundreds of million euro.
Meanwhile it was claimed today that the sun can potentially generate the equivalent of 600 times the total amount of energy consumed in the State each year, despite cloudy conditions and relatively short summers.
Mr Paul Kellett of Sustainable Energy Ireland's Renewable Energy Information Office (REIO) said Ireland had an excellent solar resource with a mean daily average comparable to Paris. He said that as global warming accelerates and our energy demands increase, homes and businesses must look to cleaner, more sustainable sources of energy, including solar power.
A two-day event, "See the Light 2003" beginning on June 19th, will focus on how solar energy can be used cost effectively to provide healthy and ecological buildings in Ireland.