Life Elia

Two members of the LIFE ELIA project met on May 29th and 30th 2014 the Irish transmission system operator (TSO) : Eirgrid. The meeting took place in Dublin on the first day, in presence of ESB (line owners) representatives.

Another day was dedicated to a visit of a pumped storage hydro-electric station and of a high tension corridor in Turlough Hill (County Wicklow).

Presentation of the LIFE ELIA project and opportunities for EirGrid

EirGrid responded earlier in April to our call for partnership sent to the TSOs of European Member States. Invited by the Grid Development department, we presented the LIFE project to see how it could contribute to EirGrid ongoing projects. These projects mainly concern the creation of 400 kV lines to transport energy from new wind farms in the Western part of the country or to build connections between existing lines. In some places, public opposition is sometimes hard on the projects. It shows, once again, how difficult it can be to develop the grid in order to implement a European Directive imposing to produce green energy, and at the same time to deal with Natura 2000 Directive implications.

After some discussions, it arouse that edges such as those created in the LIFE project could help EirGrid to secure their lines in case of strong winds during storms. First of all, the species selected to be planted in the edges have a low final height which will avoid high trees to reach the line. Then the plantation density will make it very difficult for high final height species to grow in the corridor. Eventually, edges will behave as a wind shelter for the adjacent forest, ensuring their stability in wind conditions.

EirGrid showed interest into developing a pilot site in Ireland. This pilot site would be a trial so see what could be the results of actions of the LIFE ELIA on economic balance (total clearing vs selected species in edges), social impacts (public acceptability), landscape issues and of course biodiversity (number of species, types of species). The LIFE ELIA will be happy to contribute to launch this trial on site.

Turlough Hill pumped storage hydro-electric station  

This station is a key point to the Ireland Grid. In case of blackout, it can produce enough energy on a short time (93 seconds) to activate other power stations in the country. The system is composed by two lakes separated by 287 m of height, a pipe of 4,8 m diameter in which the water flows in and 4 turbines of 73 Mwatts.

Water is pumped up during the night in the upper lake when the energy demand is low, and taken down in the lower lake during the day when demand is high. What a thrilling feeling to be in the heart of the rock where energy for our daily devices is produced. It was also striking to see how the power station complex built in 1974 was so discreetly integrated in the landscape.

Double 220 kV lines

After approximately 2 km of buried line from the power station, we walked under a forest corridor of 60 meters wide with double aerial 220 kV lines. Humid habitats of mixed peats and moors were well developed and the corridor was wide enough to ensure electrical safety. Vegetation under the lines is naturally kept low by wild grazing animals such as fallow deers and deers.

The LIFE ELIA project is looking forward a future partnership that could help EirGrid facing their challenges.