ISLES (Irish–Scottish Links on Energy Study) was a project that ran from 2010–2015. Its purpose was to facilitate the development of offshore renewable resources, such as

wind Wind is the natural movement of air or other gases relative to a planet's surface. Winds occur on a range of scales, from thunderstorm flows lasting tens of minutes, to local breezes generated by heating of land surfaces and lasting a few hou ...

wave In physics, mathematics, and related fields, a wave is a propagating dynamic disturbance (change from equilibrium) of one or more quantities. Waves can be periodic, in which case those quantities oscillate repeatedly about an equilibrium (res ...

and

tidal Tidal is the adjectival form of tide. Tidal may also refer to: * ''Tidal'' (album), a 1996 album by Fiona Apple * Tidal (king), a king involved in the Battle of the Vale of Siddim * TidalCycles, a live coding environment for music * Tidal (servic ...

energy, and renewable energy trade between

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

and

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. It assessed the feasibility, and developed a conception, of creating an integrated offshore

transmission network Electric power transmission is the bulk movement of electrical energy from a generating site, such as a power plant, to an electrical substation. The interconnected lines that facilitate this movement form a ''transmission network''. This is ...

connecting renewable energy project sites located off the west coast of Scotland, north and east coasts of Northern Ireland, west coast of Ireland and in the

Irish Sea The Irish Sea or , gv, Y Keayn Yernagh, sco, Erse Sie, gd, Muir Èireann , Ulster-Scots: ''Airish Sea'', cy, Môr Iwerddon . is an extensive body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Ce ...

with onshore grids. It was a joint project between the governments of Scotland, Ireland and Northern Ireland, funded primarily by the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

INTERREG Interreg is a series of programmes to stimulate cooperation between regions in and out of the European Union (EU), funded by the European Regional Development Fund. The first Interreg started in 1989. Interreg IV covered the period 2007–2013. I ...

IVA Programme. Funding from INTERREG was approximately €2 million. The ISLES project was announced by Minister for Enterprise, Energy and Tourism of Scotland

Jim Mather James Stuart "Jim" Mather (born 6 March 1947) is a former Scottish National Party (SNP) politician. He was the Minister for Enterprise, Energy and Tourism from 2007 to 2011, and he was a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) from 2003 to 2011 ...

and Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources of Ireland

Eamon Ryan Eamon Michael Ryan (born 28 July 1963) is an Irish Green Party politician who has served as Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications and Minister for Transport since June 2020 and Leader of the Green Party since May 2011. He ha ...

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

on 7 June 2008. The project was managed by the

Special EU Programmes Body The Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB) ( ga, Comhlacht na gClár Speisialta AE; Ulster-Scots: ''Tha By-Ordnar CE Dargs Convenerie'') is a cross-border body in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland which co-ordinates projects funded by the Eur ...

. The contract to undertake the feasibility study was awarded to a consortium led by

RPS Group RPS Group plc () is a global professional services firm of consultants and service providers, headquartered in Abingdon-on-Thames, England. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and it became a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index on 11 Novembe ...

. Its final reports were delivered to the

inter-governmental In international relations, intergovernmentalism treats states (and national governments in particular) as the primary actors in the integration process. Intergovernmentalist approaches claim to be able to explain both periods of radical change i ...

steering group in late-2011. The findings were disseminated at a conference in Glasgow on 23 November 2011. According to these findings, there are no technological barriers to ISLES and the project is feasible, although landfall points throughout the three jurisdictions have significant constraints due to environmental issues. It would cost about £1 million per each MW of installed capacity. 'Scotland-Ireland power link proposals launched' Energy Live News'
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References

External links

* {{official website, http://www.islesproject.eu Electricity policy in Scotland Electric power infrastructure in Scotland Electric power infrastructure in Ireland Politics of the British Isles

See also

References

External links