The Moyle Interconnector links the electricity grids of Northern Ireland and Scotland through submarine cables running between converter stations at Islandmagee, County Antrim and Auchencrosh in Ayrshire. The link has a capacity of 500MW.
The Moyle Interconnector has experienced a number of faults on its low voltage cables since 2010, with the result that Moyle has only been able to operate reliably at half capacity since June 2012.
In 2010 Morrow Contracts were the civil engineering contractor working with Mutual Energy to facilitate the first cable repairs in Scotland. Whilst successful the cables continued to fault under water – something which was nearly impossible to repair.
A new solution was required – The Moyle Return Cables Project. This project will restore the interconnector to its full capacity by 2016 – a year sooner than had been originally anticipated – by replacing the low voltage part of the existing cables.
The Norwegian cable company Nexans were engaged to manufacture, install and commission the replacement cables, increasing the stability and flexibility of the Northern Ireland electricity system, as well as providing enhanced security of supply.
Morrow Contracts, working in both Scotland and Northern Ireland, have facilitated these works with Nexans, overcoming various engineering difficulties such works present to improve the electricity network in Northern Ireland.