FRANCE, IRELAND - The project will strengthen the security of the electricity supply in both countries and facilitate the integration of renewable energy sources into the European electricity grid.

Siemens Energy has announced that they will deliver the high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission technology for the Celtic Interconnector, an electricity highway between France and Ireland. It will be the first connection between the Irish grid and Continental Europe.

According to Siemens Energy, the project will strengthen the security of the electricity supply in both countries and facilitate the integration of renewable energy sources into the European electricity grid. The order value for Siemens Energy is in the mid-three-digit million-euro range. The interconnector is jointly developed by EirGrid, the electricity transmission system operator in Ireland, and its French counterpart, RTE.

According to the company, Celtic Interconnector has a total length of 575 kilometers (357.3 miles), of which 500 kilometers (310.7 miles) of cables will run through the Celtic Sea. Over such long distances, electricity can only be economically transported in the form of direct current. Siemens Energy is therefore building two converter stations at the end points of the interconnector - one near Knockraha, located in the County Cork region of Ireland, the other one near La Martyre in France.

“We absolutely cannot afford to waste electricity from renewable energy sources. Every spare electron of renewable energy that can be shared with others brings us closer to our climate goals,” says Tim Holt, Member of the Executive Board of Siemens Energy.

Source: Siemens Energy