Power boost can trigger jobs surge for west

Date Published: 06-Mar-2013

IDA Ireland has predicted that the long-awaited €240m Grid West project – for which the ‘preferred corridor’ was identified this week – can bolster the capability of the west to attract high value investments.

The ‘preferred corridor’ for the €240 million high voltage electricity grid for the West of Ireland has been revealed as running from Mayo to Roscommon, with a substation likely to be built near Athenry.

EirGrid – which operates the country’s electricity transmission network – has announced that the “least constrained” corridor for the new 400 kilovolt electricity ‘motorway’ is from Ballacorick in Mayo to Flagford in Roscommon.

And that in turn creates the potential for a significant boost to employment prospects across the province, according to the IDA.

“The Foreign Direct Investment sector is a major contributor to the Irish economy, and energy infrastructure is a critical component in the overall value proposition Ireland provides to multinational corporations,” said Brendan McDonagh, head of IDA Ireland’s Business Intelligence division.

“In recent times Ireland has been very successful in attracting investments across many sectors and particularly in the areas of life sciences, ICT and data centres. These companies require a strong, secure electricity supply. The provision of additional electricity capacity is vital to attracting these high value investments to Ireland,” he added.

Meanwhile, a call has been made by the Council for the West for local communities and landowners throughout the West to support EirGrid’s plans.

A ‘corridor’ for the powerline is generally around one kilometre wide, and is a general route for the line, as opposed to being specific.

Public open days will take place in Galway and Athenry this week to discuss the plans for West Grid.

See full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune.