Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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684. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the cost of placing national grid extensions underground in GRID West, Grid South and the NSIC. [46320/15]

Alex White (Dublin South, Labour)
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An Independent Expert Panel considering EirGrid's Grid West and Grid Link projects was appointed on foot of a Government decision in January 2014. On foot of a request by the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, the Independent Expert Panel agreed to provide an opinion on the compatibility of the methodologies to be employed on the Grid West and Grid Link projects with what had already been done on the North-South project.

As part of this process EirGrid provided cost estimates for underground options to the Independent Expert Panel. These figures are published on the EirGrid website in reports prepared by EirGrid and submitted to the Independent Expert Panel.

The estimated costs, submitted to the Independent Expert Panel, of developing the projects underground are: €810 million (North-South), €643 million (Grid Link) and €477 million (Grid West).