The European Commission has awarded a EUR 530 million grant for the Celtic Interconnector electricity link between Ireland and France.
The decision comes after Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Leo Varadkar and President of France Emmanuel Macron sought financial support from the Commission in May for the 700MW electricity link.
Funds come from the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) program, the EU’s financial mechanism supporting trans-European infrastructure. A feasibility study and initial design and pre-consultation were also carried out with the support of the CEF program.
Developed by RTE France and EirGrid, the Celtic Interconnector will consist of around 575km of cables, 500km of which would be installed subsea.
The link, which will be able to transmit up to 700MW of electricity and provide a direct fiber optic communications link between Ireland and France, is scheduled to go live in 2026.
“The support of the European Commission for this electricity interconnector between France and Ireland is a major step forward in the development of an always sustainable, cost efficient, resilient and integrated European grid which will enable the transition to a low carbon energy future,” said François Brottes , Chairman of the Executive Board of RTE.