EirGrid

North Connacht 110 kV Project

New small-scale grid infrastructure is being proposed for north Connacht after a review of the region’s renewable energy plans.

Project Overview

The North Connacht 110 kV Project will add a new line to the electricity grid in Co Mayo and Co Roscommon. 

This new line will strengthen the grid in Connacht. It will provide electricity capacity to meet increasing electricity demand, supporting economic growth in the area. By connecting to renewable energy, it will also help to meet Ireland's climate action targets.

North Connacht project area

What's Included?

The plans for this project include:

  • A new 110 kV underground electricity cable from Moy substation in Ballina, Co Mayo to Tonroe substation in Ballaghaderreen, Co Roscommon
  • Upgrade and extension work to the Moy and Tonroe substations
  • An upgrade of the existing 110 kV overhead line between the Tonroe and Flagford substations in Roscommon – the location of the line will not change

Benefits of the Project

As of 2020, around 40% of the electricity that we use in Ireland comes from renewable sources. The government’s Climate Action Plan aims for 80% of electricity from renewables by 2030.

The North Connacht 110 kV Project is an important step in reaching this target. A large amount of renewable energy is already generated in north Connacht. More is planned over the coming years. 

The current electricity grid in the area cannot manage the expected flow of power. We need to improve the electricity grid in the region. The new circuit will do this, strengthening the grid in the region, which will help attract industry and drive economic growth.

Where Are We Now?

We are now at Step 6 - Construction, energisation and benefit sharing.

Planning permission for this project was granted in September 2023 by An Bord Pleanála subject to 31 discharge conditions. 

The project has now moved into detail design stage with initial site investigations to inform the design due to conclude Q1 2024. 

We are continuing engagement and collaboration with local councils, national road authorities and other stakeholders throughout this stage to ensure optimal project delivery solutions.

Project Contacts

General Contact

Project Manager

North Connacht 110kV Project The Oval, 160 Shelbourne Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin, D04 FW28 Ireland Email: northconnachtproject@eirgrid.com

Eoghan O'Sullivan

Community Liaison Officer

Email: eoghan.osullivan@eirgrid.com Telephone: +353 87 247 7732

Aidan Naughton

Agricultural Liaison Officer

Email: aidan.naughton@eirgrid.com Telephone: +353 1 720 156

Project Updates

Community Forum

The North Connacht Community Forum brings together people and organisations from the area. It means we can discuss, understand, and properly consider stakeholder and community views.

The Irish charity Development Perspectives is the independent chair of this community forum.

The role of the forum is to:

  • Represent community and organisation views
  • Provide guidance on local needs and priorities
  • Enable timely resolution of local issues related to the project
  • Give feedback to the project team
  • Facilitate a local voice and communicate information to a wider group of stakeholders

New membership to the forum is now closed.

Project Links and Documents

We use a six-step process for developing new projects. These documents are organised based on the step of the project they refer to.

Step 4C - Documents

Step 4B - Documents

Step 4A - Documents

Step 4

Step 3

Step 2

Community Forum Minutes of meetings