EirGrid's East West Interconnector (EWIC) has been named 'Engineering Project of the Year' at the Irish Building and Design Awards 2014 which took place in Dublin.

In commercial operation since May 2013, EWIC provides large capacity interconnection with Great Britain through 264 km of high voltage direct current cable between Woodlands in Co. Meath and Shotton in North Wales, 187 km of which is under the Irish Sea. EWIC has a capacity of 500 MW and has the capability to power over 1 million homes and also incorporates fibre optic communications infrastructure to benefit Irish business.

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Commenting on its award, East West Interconnector General Manager, Aidan Corcoran said: "The Project Team at EirGrid and our partners on the East West Interconnector are delighted with the recognition the project has received from our peers in the building and design sector. The East West Interconnector is strategically important infrastructure for Ireland which is already putting downward pressure on wholesale energy prices as well as supporting targets for the integration of renewable energy sources onto the transmission network in Ireland.

"The project has also enhanced skills capability around large scale interconnection which will be put to good use on future projects as the integration of European energy markets gains pace."

(CD/IT)