EirGrid is planning to upgrade the electricity grid in Kildare and southwest Dublin to help meet growing electricity demand and support the achievement of renewable energy targets. The Kildare Dublin Grid Reinforcement aims to accommodate the continued growth in electricity demand in the region, which is being driven by several sectors including new residential housing development; commercial and industrial development; and the electrification of heat and transport. It will also help to facilitate the integration of offshore renewable energy connections when they come online in the 2030s.
“The existing electricity infrastructure in the regions of east Kildare and southwest Dublin is at risk of reaching its capacity limit,” says EirGrid interim chief infrastructure officer (onshore) Siobhan O’Shea. “To address this need, new infrastructure is required to ensure a reliable, sustainable electricity supply to communities, residents, schools and businesses. The Kildare Dublin Grid Reinforcement project’s primary focus is to improve electricity capacity in this rapidly growing region. This critically important development will enhance the grid in the area, providing a continued, secure energy supply which will support local growth and development, as well as helping the country reach its renewable energy targets.”
O’Shea explains that significant investment in the grid will be required to meet the Government’s Climate Action Plan target for 80 per cent of the country’s electricity to come from renewable sources. “This is why we are currently progressing the most ambitious programme of work ever taken on the transmission system in Ireland,” she says.
“This includes reinforcements, upgrades and new infrastructure right across the country. EirGrid is the transmission system operator. We take power from where it is generated and connect it to the distribution system. ESB Networks then distributes it to consumers and businesses and other users. A lot of renewable power is generated in the west of the country with the main load centre being in the east. We need to carry the power from where it is generated to where it is needed and this project will assist with that.”
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The project will include a new 400/220/110 kV substation near the south Dublin/east Kildare border at Steelstown and a new 220/110 kV substation near Castlebaggot, Co Dublin, as well as associated circuits – either underground or overhead – linking the new stations to each other and to existing stations in Maynooth, Inchicore and Carrickmines.
Last month, EirGrid held a public consultation campaign on the first phase of the project. The aim of the campaign is to help determine the best performing area for where the substations will be located. It will also help determine the best technology options for the substations. The feedback collected from stakeholders and members of the public will be considered alongside technical studies carried out by EirGrid to determine how the project moves forward.
“In all of our projects, we reach out to the local community,” says O’Shea. “We want to engage and enable community groups, landowners and other stakeholders to have their say in relation to the project. The feedback we get is really, really valuable and it helps us to decide on the best options for the project. People gave feedback online and by post and were able to attend a number of public information events where they could express their views to members of the project team. The idea is to let people have their say. That’s really important. We are also working away in the background with other utilities, local authorities, public service providers and other stakeholders.”
The next steps will see the project team taking that feedback and working through it while continuing engagement with other stakeholders. “We also have things like technical options to work through,” she notes. “Some options might fall away, and we will come back with the best performing options for the location of the substations and routes for the circuits. We will have further consultation at that point.”
Importantly, EirGrid will establish a community forum for the Kildare Dublin Grid Reinforcement Project. The purpose of the forum will be to make sure that the voices of the local communities, and those impacted most by the infrastructure, are listened to. Chaired by an independent facilitator the forum will provide for open dialogue between the project team and stakeholders interested in the project. The forum will not replace any other engagement and consultation that EirGrid carries out as part of the project.
The project is about to move into step four of EirGrid’s Framework for Grid Development, a six-step process for all grid development projects from their conception through to their eventual construction and subsequent energisation. Step four sees the identification of where the project should be built, step five is the application for planning permission and step six is the construction and energisation phase.
“Once we have finalised the options for the location of the substations and circuits we will seek the necessary planning consents,” says O’Shea. “After that we will hand it over to ESB Networks for construction. At the moment, we are hoping to have the project complete by the early 2030s.”
That date could be brought forward if current initiatives at Government-level bear fruit. “We are doing a lot of work with the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment and other departments including the Department of Public Expenditure, [Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation] on methods to accelerate grid delivery. A number of taskforces have been set up and they are looking at barriers to grid delivery among other issues. That is really welcome as an initiative. Anything that can be done to accelerate grid delivery is very welcome.”
For more information, visit eirgrid.ie
