Energising Belfast

BelfastEnergising

SONI is the electricity transmission system operator for Northern Ireland. This means that SONI plans the future of the electricity grid and operates it every minute of every day. A key part of this is interconnecting to neighbouring grids and running the wholesale electricity market. SONI makes sure that everyone has power when they need it, at the most economic price possible. The transmission grid brings power safely from generators and sends it to the NIE Networks distribution network, which supplies electricity to every home, farm, community and business in Northern Ireland. This requires expertise and close monitoring on an ongoing basis. But we also take a long-term strategic view of what is required for the region.

We recently launched our ‘Energising Belfast’ project at an event hosted by the Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce and Industry at Allstate’s offi ces in Belfast City centre. The £39.5million ‘Energising Belfast’ project has already had the SONI pre-construction elements approved for funding by the Utility Regulator. This will modernise parts of the transmission grid in Greater Belfast to prepare it for the future of electric vehicles and home heating using electricity. The project will also play a key role in increasing the security of electricity supply for Belfast. The project will deliver a new high-capacity underground cable through Belfast City Centre, as well as a new transformer at Castlereagh Main

substation, increasing the reliability of the electricity system in Greater Belfast. Other additional improvements, such as building new substations at or next to existing sites in the city, are also being explored.

This project is significant in its potential to enable the economy in Belfast and wider Northern Ireland to grow with cleaner electricity and help to deliver the Northern Ireland Energy Strategy and the 10X Economic Strategy.

This will help in providing opportunity to deliver affordable clean electricity and to promote Northern Ireland as an attractive location for renewables investment. Our energy revolution will be based on Northern Ireland’s innovation, engineering and IT expertise. Projects such as Energising Belfast allow our skills to flourish, build markets where we export those skills and innovations to the world and help enable a step change in the capacity in our electricity network.

A thriving city centre is vital to the prosperity of Belfast City and the region. This project will prepare the transmission system, ensuring Belfast is equipped to avail of the economic growth opportunities as Northern Ireland transitions to net zero. While there is currently no finalised route selected for all parts of the project, it will include a new high-capacity underground electricity cable, which will help to underpin future investment, as it strengthens security and consistency of supply for businesses. The project will also enable older sections of the transmission line to be replaced, paving the way for the future removal of some pylons in Greater Belfast.

NIE Networks develop, construct and maintain the transmission and distribution network in Northern Ireland. While SONI will lead on the functional design and consenting of the project, NIE Networks will be responsible for the technical design, construction and delivery of this new high-capacity transmission network across the city. Assuming SONI obtains all the necessary consents within the planned timeframe, it is anticipated that construction will begin in 2024. However, the first phases of this project will entail enabling works at existing substations before the city centre works commence. The project is estimated to last for three to four years.

Prior to submitting a planning application, SONI will consult extensively with landowners, local businesses and the public. The first round of our public engagement events is taking place in October.

This major project is just one of the initiatives we are undertaking which will contribute to our stated objective of delivering 80% of our electricity form renewables, as required in the Climate Change Act. Shaping Our Electricity Future is an allisland roadmap which sets out our plans on how we are going to achieve our renewable ambition by 2030.

The grid will need huge change through to 2030. The longerterm outlook for Northern Ireland’s electricity generation is positive, the electricity system operator for Northern Ireland (SONI) is forecasting a surplus of generation from 2026 until 2031. However, SONI’s forecast set out in the Generation Capacity Statement (GCS) shows that while there will be a largely stable demand for electricity over the coming years, there will be challenges over the next four years (2022-25), particularly during winter periods.

The analysis is contained in the All Island Generation Capacity Statement 2022-31 (GCS), which examines the likely balance between electricity demand and supply. It also predicts a surplus of electricity supply out to 2030.

Northern Ireland is well positioned to lead the way on renewables due to its natural resources and our expertise in technology and engineering. Stormont’s recent Climate Change Act set a target of 80% electricity generation from renewables by 2030. This requirement will help to drive Northern Ireland’s ambitious decarbonisation of power. We are going through a decade of transition and SONI is committed to playing its part in this crucial work.

To meet the targets SONI estimates that Northern Ireland will need to approximately double the amount of installed renewable energy sources compared to what was available in 2020. This will replace some of the electricity generated through traditional methods (like coal and gas) and will serve some of the increased demand for electricity. This power will have to be generated, connected to the grid and delivered throughout Northern Ireland. The transition to clean electricity will be challenging but will help deliver investment and jobs. It will also make the island of Ireland more energy independent and will significantly reduce air pollution caused by electricity generation from fossil fuels.