A TRANSMISSION licence application is being sought for a new £700 million sub-sea electricity interconnector between Northern Ireland and Scotland.
The project, which could be completed around the end of the decade, will be privately financed.
It will reduce the likelihood of electricity outages by facilitating greater access to other electricity markets, which also means that emissions of significant levels of harmful greenhouse gasses can be avoided.
The submission to develop, construct and operate the new infrastructure is being made by TI LirIC Ltd, a company wholly owned by Transmission Investment Holdings, the most experienced and largest independent asset management team in the UK offshore transmission sector, managing 4 gigawatts of networks.
LirIC will provide up to 700 megawatts of further capacity between the Irish Integrated Single Energy Market and the GB wholesale electricity market, allowing power from renewable energy sources to be supplied in either direction, displacing the need for power generation from polluting sources.
A social economic welfare study suggests £1 billion of economic welfare will generated by the project, including £900m of benefit to consumers.
The Moyle Interconnector, owned by Mutual Energy, already links the electricity grids of Northern Ireland and Scotland through submarine cables running between converter stations at Ballycronan More in Islandmagee and Auchencrosh in Ayrshire.
Keith Morrison, LirIC project director, said: “The application for a transmission licence is an early milestone in a long process, but it's significant in that it moves us one stage closer towards delivering this very exciting project.
“Over its lifetime, this project will bring real benefits to Northern Ireland and Great Britain.
“LirlC will increase the opportunities for home-grown renewables to export power to other markets, reduce the curtailment of wind generators, lower the wholesale power price in wholesale markets, which on average is forecast to be higher in Northern Ireland, as well as deliver social economic welfare benefits.
“This interconnector will help balance out the system so that power can be imported or exported according to market requirements. There’s a long way to go in the process, but we are pleased that we have reached this milestone.”
LirIC will comprise two converter stations, one each in Northern Ireland and Scotland, and a 130 kilometres cable length linking the two, depending on the final route.
Potential routes and locations are being studied in detail, and will be selected to minimise disturbance to the environment and local communities.
Transmission Investment, which is developing a similar scheme between England and France, submitted its licence application to the north's Utility Regulation on May 17.
Mr Morrison said: “This project will be able to transmit up to 700MW, which is over 40 per cent of the winter peak demand in Northern Ireland.
“It will help reduce carbon emissions so will directly support the delivery of the national emissions reduction target of net zero by 20250.
“And if all goes well, LirIC will be online around the end of the decade.”
Martin Doherty of the Centre for Advanced Sustainable Energy (CASE) added: “It's vital Northern Ireland strengthens its interconnectivity with our partners both in GB and Ireland.
“This development is a key step on the path to providing Northern Ireland with the clean power to transform our economy over the next decades.
“The level of investment clearly demonstrates a confidence within the private sector that Northern Ireland is on the correct course with its ambitious plans for moving away from a reliance on fossil fuels.”
