Consultation with the different stakeholders in the county was the key message from the members of Mayo County Council in response to a presentation from Eirgrid in relation to a proposed upgrade of the electricity grid in the county. Eirgrid’s ambitious €240 million project would see a 400kV power line come into Mayo, at Bellacorick, to take advantage of the potential power generation from wind power and wave and other renewable sources in the future. The line would then connect with the national network either in Carrick on Shannon in Leitrim or Cashla in Galway.
Deborah Meghan, from Eirgrid, told the members that the project, which was only in the very early stages, would require a large amount of consultation with people who will be affected and at the moment Eirgrid was in an information-gathering stage. She said that it would be around 2019 before the scheme was completed and up and running. Ms Meghan also told the meeting that consultation will be needed on the connection point selected, as the line would either be travelling through Roscommon or Galway also.
There was a warm welcome for the project from all the members of Mayo County Council, but each member who spoke warned that consultation with landowners and local groups must be a priority in the project. County manager Peter Hynes also told the meeting that the members would have to be ready for some opposition to whatever route is chosen. “We have heard a lot about consultation, but you will never get 100 per cent consensus and no one should expect that you would,” he said. “But we need to be prepared for that and to support a policy that will be for the betterment of the community in general at large.” Mr Hynes had earlier told the meeting that an upgrade of the grid was essential for the development of renewable energy in the county and also as an incentive for any major industry which would like to set up in the county.
