1.3. Appropriate assessment of a national electricity programme in Ireland – assessment of cumulative effects

The Grid25 Implementation Programme (the IP) is a plan for the development of the electricity network in Ireland until 2025. It aims to ensure a long-term sustainable and reliable supply from renewable and conventional sources to the cities, towns, villages, homes and other key markets where the power is required. The main provisions of the IP until 2025 include: upgrading 2 530 km of the existing network and building 828 km of new infrastructure. As a high-level strategy, the Grid25 IP, provides an indication of the types of infrastructural requirements likely to arise in the future, given government policy on renewable energy and predicted growth in demand, but does not prescribe exactly the location of infrastructure such as generation plants or transformers, or the route of transmission lines. Instead, it provides an indicative overview of the general approach proposed for the future development of the grid. The programme has been subject to an appropriate assessment according to Article 6(3) of the Habitats Directive. As the IP applies to the entire Republic of Ireland and may have synergistic effects beyond Ireland’s borders, a screening exercise was carried out on all Natura 2000 sites within the Republic and Northern Ireland. A preliminary examination of the types of effects that may arise as a result of the IP was carried out. The type of impact depends on the type of infrastructure constructed, including: Site based infrastructure e.g. electricity generating stations, transformers, etc. Linear infrastructure e.g. overhead lines, underground cables. Impacts that could potentially occur through the implementation of the IP were categorised under a number of headings: loss/reduction of habitat area; disturbance to key species; habitat type or species habitat fragmentation; reduction in species density; changes in key indicators of conservation value such as decrease in water quality and quantity. Due to the nature of the IP, impacts were described in a general manner but were specifically identified for any of the sites that were screened in. The screening process identified approximately 340 SACs and 97 SPAs that could potentially be either directly or indirectly impacted through the development of infrastructure proposed by the IP. A further 18 SACs and 2 SPAs in Northern Ireland may be affected by cross border interconnectors. The appropriate assessment then considered the potential adverse effects occurring as a result of the application of the IP alone or in-combination with other plans, programmes and/or projects. The assessment of cumulative impacts was firstly addressed in order to make sure that they were properly considered when assessing the potential significant effects of the IP.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-09-25 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.