NATIONAL POWER supplier Eirgrid has moved to reassure residents of Rush, in north Dublin, that they have no reason to fear installation of high-voltage power line under the village’s main street.
The €600 million electricity interconnector between Wales and Ireland is being landed at Rush’s North Beach and will be carried through the village in a heavy-duty plastic duct, buried one metre below the street surface.
Last month, in response to concerns expressed by Rush Community Council that it could represent a threat to public health and safety, Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources Eamon Ryan asked Eirgrid to re-examine the route.
But the company has pointed out that nearby Rogerstown Estuary is a designated Natura 2000 site and EU guidelines set down that any project having a significantly negative effect on such a site “may only be authorised in the absence of alternative solutions”.
In a leaflet distributed to homes in the area and in local newspaper advertisements, Eirgrid says: “The interconnector is safe and in compliance with the national and international guidelines in relation to exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMFs).
“The safety guidelines are more than 9,000 times greater than the magnetic field of the interconnector. The static magnetic fields from the interconnector are actually less than the earth’s natural magnetic field”, the company maintains. “An Bord Pleanála has considered submissions on health in relation to the interconnector and decided that there were no public health concerns. . . If there were any health risks, the project would not have received planning permission,” it says.
Eirgrid’s leaflet also points out that there are more than 300km of high-voltage underground electricity cables in Dublin city, including residential areas, while other sources of direct current (the type used in the interconnector) include Dart and Luas.
“Reference has been made to studies conducted by the Oxford Childhood Cancer Research Group and Draper. The studies relate to a different form of electricity (alternating current) than the form that will be transmitted on the East–West Interconnector.”
“The minimum burial depth of the cables will be one metre (and not 300mm), which is standard practice for underground electricity cables. The cable will be contained within a heavy-duty plastic duct, which is surrounded by different layers of protection.”
A road opening licence would be required before digging and “therefore no residents are at risk of accidentally digging up the cable”. Work would also be completed quickly, at the rate of 30 to 50m per day.
Eirgrid’s leaflet also notes that it will be making a “community contribution” of €100,000 to Fingal County Council, of which 90 per cent had been “ring-fenced for Rush”. More detailed information is available at interconnector.ie and the project team can be contacted by phoning 1890 364656.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Showing posts with label eirgrid planning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label eirgrid planning. Show all posts
Wednesday, 15 September 2010
Thursday, 1 July 2010
Key electricity link faces long delay over Eirgrid error
DEVELOPMENT OF a critical piece of the State’s electricity network faces a long delay as a result of a mistake by the State company responsible for building it.
An error in the application for planning permission to build a high-voltage power line through Meath, Cavan and Monaghan forced the State’s electricity network operator, Eirgrid, to withdraw the application yesterday, midway through a Bord Pleanála hearing into the issue.
The public notice, which is part of the application, stated the pylons supporting the power lines would be between 23 and 37 metres high, but it should have read 23-44 metres.
Eirgrid will have to resubmit its application for permission to build the €200 million power line to An Bord Pleanála and go through a second public hearing.
A spokesman said it would resubmit the application within months. He confirmed the error has left the project, which Eirgrid says is critical to developing Ireland’s electricity network and guaranteeing northeastern power supplies, facing a serious delay.
The original application was made last December, and the public hearing began last month.
An Bord Pleanála may not now be able to make a decision until next year, when the lines had been scheduled to be in place.
The mistake only appeared in the public notice. Measurements in all other elements of the planning application were correct.
The mix-up was put down to human error. A spokesman said it ultimately intends to “assign blame” for what happened. He said Eirgrid takes full responsibility for the mistake.
The line is intended to continue into Tyrone and forms part of a second connection between electricity grids in the Republic and Northern Ireland, both of which Eirgrid operates. Along with supplying power to key population centres in the northeast, the line is crucial to developing the all-Ireland electricity market, which is designed to boost competition and help control energy prices.
Yesterday’s development will not affect the planning process in the North, which Northern Ireland Electricity is managing.
Minister for Energy Eamon Ryan said he was disappointed at the delay and stressed the line is a “crucial part of our energy infrastructure”.
The North East Pylon Pressure group (NEPP), which opposes the development and wants the line placed underground, described what happened as a disgrace and called for a full investigation. It pledged to continue its opposition.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
An error in the application for planning permission to build a high-voltage power line through Meath, Cavan and Monaghan forced the State’s electricity network operator, Eirgrid, to withdraw the application yesterday, midway through a Bord Pleanála hearing into the issue.
The public notice, which is part of the application, stated the pylons supporting the power lines would be between 23 and 37 metres high, but it should have read 23-44 metres.
Eirgrid will have to resubmit its application for permission to build the €200 million power line to An Bord Pleanála and go through a second public hearing.
A spokesman said it would resubmit the application within months. He confirmed the error has left the project, which Eirgrid says is critical to developing Ireland’s electricity network and guaranteeing northeastern power supplies, facing a serious delay.
The original application was made last December, and the public hearing began last month.
An Bord Pleanála may not now be able to make a decision until next year, when the lines had been scheduled to be in place.
The mistake only appeared in the public notice. Measurements in all other elements of the planning application were correct.
The mix-up was put down to human error. A spokesman said it ultimately intends to “assign blame” for what happened. He said Eirgrid takes full responsibility for the mistake.
The line is intended to continue into Tyrone and forms part of a second connection between electricity grids in the Republic and Northern Ireland, both of which Eirgrid operates. Along with supplying power to key population centres in the northeast, the line is crucial to developing the all-Ireland electricity market, which is designed to boost competition and help control energy prices.
Yesterday’s development will not affect the planning process in the North, which Northern Ireland Electricity is managing.
Minister for Energy Eamon Ryan said he was disappointed at the delay and stressed the line is a “crucial part of our energy infrastructure”.
The North East Pylon Pressure group (NEPP), which opposes the development and wants the line placed underground, described what happened as a disgrace and called for a full investigation. It pledged to continue its opposition.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Sunday, 20 June 2010
Locals oppose €600m Eirgrid pipeline over health concerns
RESIDENTS OF Rush in north county Dublin are opposing the development of a €600 million underground electricity pipeline because they say health and safety issues have not been adequately addressed by developer Eirgrid.
The depth of the pipeline and the potential health risks created by magnetic currents were among the concerns expressed by up to 300 residents at a public information meeting held last week.
Development on the interconnector is scheduled to begin later this month. The pipeline will be placed 1m (3.2ft) below ground as work takes place in Rush over the next 18 months. The National electricity network operator Eirgrid was granted permission by An Bord Pleanála to build the East-West interconnector pipeline between Ireland and Wales last year and they say their plans comply fully with all the relevant domestic and EU regulations.
A spokeswoman for Eirgrid said the interconnector posed no potential health risks and the shallow depth of the piping around Rush was necessary to maximise the capacity of energy flowing through the interconnector.
“The pipeline will be laid at quite a shallow depth and will emit slight magnetic currents, but they would be no different to the magnetic currents that are produced naturally by the Earth,” she said.
Residents say Eirgrid has failed to adequately notify them about the interconnector, according to chairman of the Rush Development Council Charlie Monks.
Mr Monks said locals were concerned about plans to lay sections of the interconnector close to residential areas. “People in the area are genuinely nervous that this pipeline could affect their health . . . a lot of people turned up at the meeting because they didn’t actually know this development was taking place until recently. Eirgrid has scheduled an information day next Thursday but work on the pipeline starts a week later on June 28th. The meeting comes too late for residents to object.”
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The depth of the pipeline and the potential health risks created by magnetic currents were among the concerns expressed by up to 300 residents at a public information meeting held last week.
Development on the interconnector is scheduled to begin later this month. The pipeline will be placed 1m (3.2ft) below ground as work takes place in Rush over the next 18 months. The National electricity network operator Eirgrid was granted permission by An Bord Pleanála to build the East-West interconnector pipeline between Ireland and Wales last year and they say their plans comply fully with all the relevant domestic and EU regulations.
A spokeswoman for Eirgrid said the interconnector posed no potential health risks and the shallow depth of the piping around Rush was necessary to maximise the capacity of energy flowing through the interconnector.
“The pipeline will be laid at quite a shallow depth and will emit slight magnetic currents, but they would be no different to the magnetic currents that are produced naturally by the Earth,” she said.
Residents say Eirgrid has failed to adequately notify them about the interconnector, according to chairman of the Rush Development Council Charlie Monks.
Mr Monks said locals were concerned about plans to lay sections of the interconnector close to residential areas. “People in the area are genuinely nervous that this pipeline could affect their health . . . a lot of people turned up at the meeting because they didn’t actually know this development was taking place until recently. Eirgrid has scheduled an information day next Thursday but work on the pipeline starts a week later on June 28th. The meeting comes too late for residents to object.”
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
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