Project overview
Gas Networks Ireland is responsible for building, managing and maintaining an extensive network of gas infrastructure across the Republic of Ireland. This includes the provision of new connections for customers who have been awarded ‘capacity’ contracts to supply electricity to the national grid.
In 2026, Gas Networks Ireland completed the connection of a new power generation customer, Greener Ideas Ltd, to the national gas network at Kilcarbery in Co. Dublin. This involved the installation of a 1.45km transmission pipeline and the construction of an Above Ground Installation (AGI) at the customer facility in Profile Park.
The pipeline is routed along the New Nangor Road in Grange Castle and is a shared connection with three other customers in the vicinity. A live ‘hot-tap’ was also required, which involved connecting the new pipeline to the existing network all while gas continues to flow uninterrupted to customers in the locality.
Gas forms a key part of Ireland’s current energy mix and is the backbone to the national electricity grid when it comes to ensuring continuity of power. This customer’s ‘peaking’ power plant will help meet peak demands for the uninterrupted supply of power to Irish households and businesses. It will also support the move towards renewable power, as these plants can flex up or down depending on the amount of power available from renewable sources at any given time.
This project forms part of GNI’s critical infrastructure plan, helping to ensure we are meeting the country’s growing energy needs, while also supporting the transition to renewable power.
Key Features of the project included:
- 1.45km of heavy wall pipeline installed underground (800m of 400mm pipe and 650m of 200mm pipe)
- Live ‘hot-tap’ to connect the new pipeline to the existing pipeline
- New AGI with pressure reduction, metering and filtering
- Two stream crossings
Fingleton White were the lead designer on this project, while construction works were undertaken by Murphy, and supervised by Gas Networks Ireland.
These works commenced in July 2025 and completed in 2026.
Environment and planning
This project was granted a Section 39A Consent (“Consent”) from the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) on 19 May, 2025. An Environmental Impact Assessment Report and an Appropriate Assessment Screening Report were submitted as part of the Section 39A application. The Consent documents including all environmental reports are available to view at: https://www.cru.ie
The construction phase was undertaken in accordance with the conditions of this Consent, including a Site Specific Flood Risk Assessment, a detailed Construction Environmental Management Plan and monitoring by an Ecological Clerk of Works. Archaeological monitoring was also required for parts of the works.