Energy infrastructure

it’s worth pointing out that that particular interconnector which is now years late and over budget on a scale similar to Children’s Hospital fiasco doesn’t actually generate electricity

It permits us to buy French electricity if they have some to sell at market prices and selling to us doesn’t put their own grid at risk (see what happened to Spain)

It also permits us to sell but the French have plenty of electricity as is which is greener and cheaper

Up to about 9% of our peak demand if this is ever completed at the new date

Agree what I was trying to point out is that it’s interconnection (ability to tap into French surpluses) not power generation capacity

Beside being way overdue (as is fashionable with projects in this country) it’s also expensive and price keeps going up for 700mw 575km project at 1.6 billion euro

Compare that to 2000mw 1208km project at 3.5 billion which is gonna be operational before the Irish one at this rate

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Sea_Interconnector

the Celtic interconnector won't make a huge difference.

As well as solar we are are still adding Onshore Wind, replacing older, dirtier fossil fuel plants withe cleaner more efficient Gas plants. its all adds to reducing our carbon emissions, but until Tonn Nua and the other big offshore wind projects start pumping out the MWH we wont be near any of our targets.

In a thread about energy infrastructure it’s not worth discussing the most expensive piece of energy infrastructure that’s over budget and behind its construction timeline

A project that doesn’t generate a watt of energy (actually loses energy due to physics) and whose aim is to somewhat connect 9% of our grid needs to European mainland grid, when/if that grid has surplus to sell

I got that right?

Not so smooth on that one - only part way there …

The project was paused by the Greek government in March 2025 after payments to French cable maker Nexans were frozen, and the Italian research ship returned to Italy. This was following objections by Turkey which sent five warships to the research area in July 2024 to prevent research continuing. It is now possible the project may be cancelled due to Turkish pressure.

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 Despite this, an undersea cable connecting the Greek mainland to Crete was completed in May 2025, with a decision on progress beyond Crete due in 2026.

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There is now a major second SynCon running almost 24x7 in the midlands. Similar if not bigger than than the Moneypoint one. Should allow an extra 5% …. - some Static Synchronous Compensators (STATCOM) are also active.

AFAIK and it seems logical that Moneypoint coal and oil is now a non-market "strategic" generator - eg available for no-wind / no-import situations.

Again I don't know why we don't expand Corrib Gas to give strategic "cleaner than LNG / oil & coal" reserves.

https://www.offalyexpress.ie/news/midland-tribune/2015135/proposed-wind-farm-near-clonmacnoise-meets-strong-opposition.html

More habitat destruction which some here will be happy to cheer on.

Yip, those parts currently brown which would return to being boglands if BnM left them alone.

Do you think it was the locals or BnM who turned it brown. Large turbines need deep foundations and service roadways. 800 metres from Clonmacnoise means no problem with rewetting as the Shannon will supply more than enough water.

This is a very curious line of questioning from you. Maybe you would also like to bring my attention to the ISEQ index while you are at it. When is the right time to preserve the environment, now or not at all? The contempt shown to rural folks on these forums is very apparent.

You have no reason to believe any of those protesting worked for BnM in peat extraction and certainly not on that bog as it is on the far side of the river with no convenient bridge crossing nearby. You have no reason to believe that any of those protesting have motives other than those which they have made public. You attempting to tar them is a shameful reflection upon you, not upon them. You would not even state these views without the anonymity of a forum to shield you.

I admit to having had a previous user from the turn of the century which I requested be deleted but I am mystified as to why you think pointing out that this is not that original username I once used many years ago is such a zinger that it should silence me on the subject of the destruction of rural Ireland. When one looks at the amounts being spent on AI build out worldwide with companies issuing bonds for 5, 10 or even 100 years you must wonder what will all this money be spent on if not compute in Datacentres with insatiable demand for electricity.