Preferred Route Corridor
Preferred Route Corridor
Following a review of all project documentation, including consultants' studies, reports, and consultation feedback, EirGrid has nominated one preferred route corridor for each 400kV power line project for further study.
The preferred route corridors are:
The preferred route corridors strike the best balance between the often competing priorities of community concerns, environmental issues and the technical aspects of the projects.
To get to this point, EirGrid carried out studies to assess the feasibility of an indicative line route within each route corridor. The indicative line routes in the preferred route corridors will now be taken forward to the next phase of project development, involving discussions with landowners as a priority, further studies and stakeholder engagement.
No decisions can be made on the final line routes until this has been completed. EirGrid remains open to reviewing its position regarding the best solutions for the projects, based on the outcome of this work.
Once all relevant studies, including the Environmental Impact Statement, are complete, EirGrid will bring the final line routes to the Strategic Infrastructure Board in An Bord Pleanála. An Bord Pleanála is the independent statutory body that will ultimately decide if the project can go forward.
Criteria Used in Evaluating all Corridor Options
The potential route corridor options for each of the projects were assessed in respect of the selection criteria below:
Community Criteria
- Planning and land use
- Community severance
- Number of dwellings within the 1km wide corridor
- Number of dwellings and other residential accommodation near indicative line routes
- Potential impact on public amenities (such as schools)
Technical Criteria
- Safety
- Construction / Operation
- Design (Including line route length)
- Other technical considerations
Environmental Criteria
- Water
- Flora & fauna
- Visual amenity and landscape
- Archaeology, culture and local heritage
- Electrical and magnetic fields
- Air quality
Other Criteria
- Compliance with current planning and development policy guidelines
- Project programme and delivery
- Economic feasibility
- Compliance with best international practice
- Adaptability for future development
Why route corridor 3B (Meath - Cavan)?
Community Criteria
- Least number of homes / occupied buildings and schools near the indicative line route to lower possible impacts on communities
Environmental Criteria
- Least impact on visual amenity and the surrounding landscape
- Low impact on protected and designated habitats
- Low impact on recorded monuments and places, and national monuments
Technical Criteria
- Shortest line route