90m ducting pipes at East Cork beach 'a key milestone' for EirGrid project
Cranes ready to take the pipes to the shore as part of the Eirgrid Interconnector works in Claycastle Beach in Youghal. Picture: Howard Crowdy
EirGrid’s undersea Interconnector project has reached a landmark stage with the installation of three 90m ducting pipes at Youghal’s Claycastle Beach.
The project is the first such link between Ireland and continental Europe, and it will power about 450,000 Irish homes on completion in 2026.
As a large crowd of onlookers gathered to watch, a well coordinated operation saw the pipes laid into a trench at a depth of 3.5m before being anchored by 22 blocks of concrete weighing 1.8 tonnes each.
The ducting will accommodate electricity and fibre optic cables, running in both directions, across a 500km subsea journey between East Cork and Finistére in Brittany, France.
Earlier, the high density plastic pipes — which were welded together on site — were carried from the carpark to the trench by five cranes working in perfect synchronisation.
The ducting will later be extended a further 120m offshore, probably from boats, following dredging works.
An additional 46m of ducting on shore will extend underground to the rear of the beach carpark.
The cables will be inserted next year and will exit underground towards the N25.
High voltage direct current (HVDC) technology, used to transport electricity over long distances, will transfer electricity to a converter station at Ballyadam.
There, it will be converted into high voltage alternate current (HVAC) for use in the Irish grid before being transported to a substation at Knockraha, near Cork.
A similar process will operate at a converter station under construction in France.
Costing an estimated €1.6bn, the interconnector is a joint project between EirGrid and its French counterpart Réseau de Transport d’Electricité (RTÉ) — supported by the EU.
The project’s €2.4m community fund has benefitted organisations across the region — including schools, arts, biodiversity, and sporting organisations.
EirGrid chief infrastructure officer Michael Mahon described the ducting insulation as "a key milestone in delivering a more resilient and secure power system for the future", adding that it "paves the way for electricity cable installation".
He also paid “a huge thank you to our contractors, stakeholders, and the Youghal community for their collaboration, patience, and support throughout”.
