A controversial €350 million (£300 million) electricity grid interconnector project between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland is heading to the High Court next week amid strong opposition from local landowners and residents.
The judicial review, scheduled to begin on April 9, was initiated by campaign group Safe Electricity Armagh and Tyrone (Seat), representing approximately 150 landowners and 6,500 residents. They have called on Northern Ireland’s Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins to halt construction of more than 100 pylons in Armagh and Tyrone until legal proceedings conclude.
John Woods, founder of Linwoods Health Foods and a leader of the campaign, argues that the cables should be placed underground, similar to sections in the Republic of Ireland. The legal challenge focuses on alleged breaches of planning compliance rules, with Woods claiming the pylons will “blight the landscape, destroy beautiful scenery, damage the environment and reduce the values of homes and farmland.”
The campaigners also contend that Northern Ireland is being used as a “whipping boy” to support Ireland’s energy demands, particularly from data centers which reportedly consume 21% of electricity in the Republic. Woods questions the benefit for Northern Ireland, suggesting the interconnector primarily serves to “cream off” renewable energy from the north to sell to data centers across the border.
The System Operator for Northern Ireland (Soni) strongly refutes these characterizations, describing the interconnector as “critical” to Northern Ireland’s net zero targets. Soni maintains the project will enable better integration of renewable energy and allow Northern Ireland to sell surplus wind energy that would otherwise go to waste. According to Soni, removing grid constraints through the interconnector would save Northern Ireland consumers approximately “£55,000 a day, £19 million annually.”
Soni also defended the decision to use overhead cables rather than underground installations, citing concerns about accessibility for repairs during power outages and potential risks of lengthy repair times with underground infrastructure.
According to The Irish Examiner, the north-south interconnector project, first proposed in 2006 as part of post-peace process collaboration between Belfast, Dublin and London, has faced numerous delays. With planning permission set to expire this autumn, a successful legal challenge could set the project back by years.
The Department for Infrastructure declined to comment on the pending court case but stated the interconnector would bring “material benefits” to electricity consumers and “facilitate the integration of more renewable electricity into our electricity system.”