Written Evidence submitted by County Monaghan Anti-Pylon Committee (EEE0008)
County Monaghan Anti-Pylon Committee (CMAPC) was formed in 2007 as a response to EirGrid’s proposal to develop a second North South Interconnector using overhead 400kV conductors on massive steel structures, commonly referred to as pylons. Two other groups were formed at the same time to oppose the pylons – Safe Electricity for Armagh & Tyrone (SEAT) and North East Pylon Pressure (NEPP) based in County Meath.
Our main concerns are – in no particular order:
Impact on farming (dairy and beef sectors) and on the “green” image of the substantial agrifood sector in County Monaghan;
Property devaluation;
Impact on future development on lands impacted by the interconnector and the difficulties of family members being able to build new houses close to their original home;
Health impacts (experts remain divided on this issue);
Loss of visual amenity in areas such as the Monaghan Way;
Impact on the local tourism industry, including parts of Co. Armagh;
Impact on local historic monuments;
Different rules and rates of compensation for local communities or landowners impacted by the development in either jurisdiction;
Lack of clarity about the total cost of the project and the lack of a detailed costs and benefits analysis, taking into account the above concerns. It should be noted that when National Grid were planning a line across the island of Anglesey in Wales, a detailed cost benefit analysis was provided for the local planning authority.
We advocate that if needed then the project should be put underground using modern DC VSC technology and XPLE cables, which seems to be the pragmatic approach taken in other European countries to expedite interconnector and transmission projects.
CMAPC represent the communities and people of Co. Monaghan who oppose the erection of pylons through the length of our drumlin county.
Most importantly we represent 125 potential host landowners, mostly small farmers, who are vehemently opposed to the pylons and wires crossing their lands. In total there are circa 450 landowners in Meath, Cavan and Monaghan with over 90% opposed to the overhead line.
The reasons for this intense opposition are manifold and complex due to a ten year history during which consultation was conducted in a high handed manner with decisions already taken on both sides of the border, by EirGrid and NIE, long before the project was unveiled to the public in the autumn of 2007.
The consultation was conducted using the DAD model – Decide, Announce and Defend.
We stress that we are not NIMBYS but we have been treated as second class citizens by EirGrid throughout this whole process.
We were constantly given very misleading and incorrect information on various topics such as feasibility and cost of undergrounding, EMFs and the need for the project.
For example in the first application to An Bord Pleanala there was a sub-station located outside Kingscourt, Co. Cavan that linked into the existing transmission network in the North East. The pressing reason for this sub-station was that by 2012 the electricity supply in the region would be substandard with a risk to security of supply.
This application was lodged with An Bord Pleanala in December 2009 on the exact same date as the application was lodged with the planning authority in Northern Ireland.
An Bord Pleanala held an oral hearing during June 2010 which lasted for 3 weeks before EirGrid withdrew the application when a serious discrepancy regarding the published heights of the pylons in the statutory planning notice came to light.
In 2011 EirGrid published a review of the project in which the sub-station was deleted. It was now a project going straight from Meath to Tyrone with no sub-station anywhere along the line. So therefore it was of no benefit to the North East region and when queried EirGrid assured us that there was now no risk to the security of supply in the region.
The same serious miscalculation subsequently happened with regards to Grid Link in the South East of the country, which was proposed as 400 kV line linking Cork and Dublin via Waterford – a length of 250 kilometres. On foot of 38,000 submissions during public consultation, proving there was no public acceptance of pylons, EirGrid shelved the project and stated that they could upgrade existing lines instead.
The same thing happened with Grid West, which is now downgraded to wooden poles.
Given their past record it can be no surprise that the public have lost complete confidence in EirGrid as a competent body. Indeed some of our Government Ministers have voiced no confidence in EirGrid.
We have grave doubts, despite obtaining planning permission on both sides of the border, that they have got it right with the North South Interconnector.
We can say this now with some confidence after the Kilroot debacle, which sparked the reopening of your enquiry.
It was hammered home by EirGrid / SONI at both planning enquiries that Kilroot and part of Ballylumford had to close post 2021 due to emission regulations. If this happened in the absence of the second NSI then security of supply in N. Ireland would be at serious risk with the threat of possible blackouts, with an associated threat to “life and limb.”
It is quite incredulous to us that literally within a few days of planning being granted in N. Ireland that EirGrid / SONI took a decision not to award any contract under the I SEM auction to the coal plants at Kilroot. It is our understanding that Kilroot will have to shut down at the end of May and part of Ballylumford by year’s end and there is suddenly no risk to security of supply at all!
The question that now needs to be asked is – did EirGrid / SONI purposely and continuously give false information, not only to the public, but also to the planning authorities on both sides of the border, or are they just simply incompetent and not fit for purpose?
To briefly give our views on the Terms of Reference set by the Committee.
In our view a very positive effect of the I-SEM is to underpin further interconnection with the European Transmission System via under sea cables. With regards to Northern Ireland we have already seen a negative effect in that it will be far more reliant on imported electricity, whether that is from the rest of the UK or from ROI. EirGrid have stated that there will be an annual cost benefit of €20 million rising to €40 million by 2030 when the second NSI is operational. These might seem nice chunky figures but are in fact miniscule in the context of the overall market.
The value of the electricity market in 2015 on the island of Ireland according to the SEMO website was €1,854,638,645. A predicted saving through the planned interconnector of €20 million would represent 0.01% of that market value. It also must be remembered that the quoted savings represent wholesale costs and there is no transparency in whether they will be passed through to the consumer or not.
At An Bord Pleanala oral hearing in 2016 the requirement for a second NSI with a power transfer capacity of 1500 Megawatts was explained by EirGrid in terms of the capacity that is required by the Single Electricity Market (SEM) for transferring power between the two jurisdictions. Since the commencement of the SEM, it has been demonstrated by modelling that unrestricted market flows on a regular basis in excess of 750 MW and at times up to a magnitude of 1,100 Megawatts from Ireland and Northern Ireland was possible.
This proved to us that the need for the development is clearly Northern Ireland’s need with very little if any benefit to the south. We posed the question why no efforts were being made to replace unsuitable plant with more modern clean plant to address generating deficits in Northern Ireland. It was also our argument that there is no evidence that the proposed development would be mutually beneficial to the south and that the savings to consumers were totally illusionary.
Obviously, the broader implications of the closings, is that security of supply will be delicately balanced and ultimately, if no new generating plant is built, there will be increased, if not total, dependence on electricity supply from outside the jurisdiction.
There are currently no bureaucratic or legal obstacles in ROI. Further legal challenges in both jurisdictions are under consideration.
The Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Denis Naughten TD has commissioned a review of undergrounding the NSI by an International Expert Group (IEG) due to be published before the end of March. EirGrid are confident that this review will hold “no surprises.” However, and this is the nub of the matter, there is massive resistance amongst landowners to host the infrastructure. This has got widespread public and political support in Dail Eireann. At this juncture we simply do not see how this line can be built without serious protest, civil disobedience and landowners ultimately may be imprisoned. There is no prospect of these issues being resolved soon in order to permit the completion of the necessary infrastructure unless it goes underground.
In our view the Celtic Interconnector, if constructed, will serve to copper fasten Northern Ireland’s dependence on ROI for its electricity supply. However, we do accept that at times of high wind penetration it will serve to export wind energy from the whole island.
Planning permission was granted by the Department of Infrastructure in the absence of an elected Executive or a Minister. So, obviously, decisions are being made by civil servants. Whether this is intra or ultra vires has yet to be decided in the courts. Our opinion is that this state of affairs cannot be conducive to a good decision making process in the absence of political oversight. It should be noted that the previous Minister (before the collapse of the NI Executive) was a Sinn Féin nominee. The party at its Ard Fheis (annual conference) in Dublin last November overwhelmingly supported a policy of putting the line underground.
The Single Electricity Market refers to the joint wholesale market which operates on the entirety of the island of Ireland, with the aims of meeting consumer demand for energy at the least-cost and maximizing reliability and security. The Single Electricity Market will, despite Brexit, still be binding as it has been signed into national legislation in both jurisdictions. The energy systems of Ireland and the UK are closely connected. This is not limited to the SEM, but includes gas as well as electricity. Ireland-UK bilateral arrangements are already in place to enable that cooperation.
The implications for the all-island energy market in the event that no new generating plant is built in Northern Ireland is that the proposed second NSI will be a one-way street. Evidence was given at the planning oral hearing in ROI by EirGrid’s Network Planning Manager that for short periods the power flow could be as much as 1,100 Megawatts south to north. In the our opinion the all-island energy market will not operate as intended i.e. an equal sharing of electricity to benefit all of the island because Northern Ireland will have no spare electricity to effectively share.
Appendix A: Extracts taken from this weeks edition of our local newspaper The Northern Standard reporting on a meeting of landowners, farm representative groups and politicians held on Monday 19th Feb. in a local community hall.
LANDOWNERS PREPARE TO TACKLE EIRGRID OVER PYLONS
Strongly Resolved to Block Access to Land for Overhead Line…
But EirGrid Insist Construction Will Begin by End of Year
Michael Fisher
“This line will never go up and we will show that people power wins in the end. This meeting demonstrates the will of the people and that will win in the end.”
As EirGrid push forward with plans to begin work on the North South interconnector later this year, around 100 landowners in Co. Monaghan led by Chair of the County Monaghan Anti Pylon Committee Donal McDaid expressed their strong determination to oppose the construction of the overhead high voltage line and pylons. For the first time, the county representatives of the Irish Farmers Association were formally invited to attend a public meeting on Monday night in Aughnamullen Community Centre organised by the County Monaghan Anti Pylon Committee.
Chair of the IFA Monaghan branch Frank Brady said the impression he got was that people were adamant EirGrid would not get access to land, but that landowners would cooperate if the interconnector was placed underground. He agreed to arrange a meeting in Dublin between the IFA leadership and a group from the CMAPC. Responding to some critical comments from the audience, he told them: “we’re not going to get anything unless we are united.”
Also present at the meeting were representatives from the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association and the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers’ Association, as well as a number of local politicians.
Fianna Fáil Cavan Monaghan Deputy Niamh Smyth told the packed hall she had done her utmost to represent the views of the Anti Pylon Committee at Leinster House. She believed it was important to preserve the heritage and beauty of Co. Monaghan and its tourist potential. It had so much to offer. But the overhead line would create problems for land devaluation. Health was also a big issue and no-one seemed to have the answer to all the questions.
Over the past ten years a lot of people have had sleepless nights, she said. She said she would be there to raise the issue at every possible opportunity.
IFA County Monaghan Chair Frank Brady told the meeting the IFA was behind the farmers. “I will stand with the farmers of Monaghan: no problem,” he told the meeting.
Mr Brady accepted that the grievances within the community (against EirGrid) were strong and anything that could be done for the farmers would be done (by the IFA).
ICMSA RESPONSE
Commenting after the interconnector meeting, the Deputy President of the ICMSA Lorcan McCabe repeated his Association’s position that the landowners concerned cannot be coerced into having pylons and the associated works involved on their land. Mr McCabe said that the public of the North East had resisted this proposal for over a decade and their opinions must be respected and incorporated into future planning.
Mr McCabe stressed that the ICMSA was in no sense anti-development. “We’re absolutely not against development and necessary infrastructure but the long-term vision of the state and its crucial food production sector will best be served by investing now in putting the line underground and this has to be the preferred option. As the engineering advances the proportionate extra cost of undergrounding the line is falling and this too had to be factor. The smart, strategic and sustainable option here is actually the underground option.”
ICSA WILL STAND ‘SHOULDER TO SHOULDER’ WITH FARMERS
The Connacht Ulster Vice President of the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association Jim Harrison from Castleblayney said the Association was totally behind the landowners involved. In January 2014 it made a submission regarding the GridLink project. It expressed deep concern that EirGrid (at that time) was so quickly discounting undergrounding the proposed line in Leinster and Munster. It called on the planners to revisit the engineering options, taking into account recent advances in technology, which might more readily facilitate a more widely acceptable undergrounding solution. It also warned about ‘pylon pollution’, namely the impact of pylons on farmland, and said it could affect the market price for animals reared on affected farms.
Mr Harrison said the overhead line would also have a negative impact on land and houses.
He concluded with this message to landowners: “We support you. We will stand shoulder to shoulder with you.”
Fianna Fáil Cllr Séamus Coyle referred to the meeting Monaghan Councillors had with Minister Naughten at the end of January. He explained that he came out of the meeting both outraged and disgusted at the response they had had. He felt the Minister was going through a box-ticking exercise. When asked about the decision to close down the coal-fired Kilroot power station and part of Ballylumford in Co. Antrim (ahead of the expected time), the Minister had responded that this reinforced the need for the North South interconnector. Minister Naughten had also confirmed he had given approval to EirGrid to issue a tender for the 400 pylons last August, before planning approval was received in Northern Ireland.
Cllr Coyle said this was going to be about people power in the end.
Minister Naughten is set to publish two reports by the end of March relating to the project. The first is an independent study to examine the technical feasibility and cost of running the interconnector underground. The second study is focused, in a European context, on the levels of compensation provided to land and property owners in proximity to high-voltage transmission lines.
“Its aim is to provide a significant body of independently collated information on comparative practices in several jurisdictions.”
23 February 2018