Wood is providing EirGrid Group, Ireland’s state-owned transmission system operator and France’s counterpart Réseau de Transport d’Electricité (RTE), with subsea engineering services to the Celtic Interconnector project.

The new contract, supported by Wood’s Galway, Paris and London offices, includes marine engineering studies to inform the design of a subsea power cable system, and technical project management services, as part of the initial design and pre-consultation phase of the project.

The Celtic Interconnector is a proposed electrical link enabling movement of power between Ireland and France. The approximate length of the marine route is 500km and the subsea cable would run from the Bretagne region of France, crossing the UK Exclusive Economic Area to the south coast of Ireland.

Bob MacDonald, CEO of Wood’s Specialist Technical Solutions, says, “Our experience working on subsea cable interconnector projects in the region combined with our global engineering expertise positions us ideally to provide technical support to both EirGrid and RTE.”

“Our teams ensure a flexible project delivery framework with robust health, safety and quality assurance systems to optimise efficiencies throughout the contract. We are delighted to work on this milestone European project which builds upon our diverse subsea and export systems portfolio,” MacDonald adds.

The European Commission has designated this proposed development as a Project of Common Interest (PCI).

Tags: EirGrid Group, Réseau de Transport d’Electricité (RTE), Wood