A €350m plan to interconnect electricity grids across Ireland is facing a challenge in the high court. Campaigners from Northern Ireland claim the region is being unfairly used to support the Republic’s energy-intensive datacenters.

Over 150 landowners representing 6,500 residents are urging the Northern Ireland infrastructure minister, Liz Kimmins, to pause the construction of over 100 towering pylons in Armagh and Tyrone until a judicial review set for April 9th concludes. This legal challenge is the latest obstacle for a project conceived in 2006 to foster collaboration between Belfast, Dublin, and London.

John Woods, a campaigner and founder of Linwoods Health Foods, claims the construction will harm the environment and the value of homes and farmland. He also argues that Northern Ireland’s landowners are being unfairly used as a conduit to supply energy to Republic’s datacenters, which consume a significant portion of the country’s electricity.

The interconnector is critical to Northern Ireland’s net-zero climate goals as it facilitates the integration of renewable energy sources and the export of surplus wind energy. Wood’s claims about the interconnector are inaccurately portraying its benefits, according to the System Operator for Northern Ireland (SONI). SONI also noted that an underground cable system would be too risky and potentially harm renewable energy distribution.

Campaigners also argue that land along a 21-mile stretch will become a planning and farming ‘desert’ due to development restrictions around the pylons.

While neither SONI nor the DfI would comment on the impending court case, they maintain that the interconnector will benefit consumers and businesses by facilitating the inclusion of more renewable energy sources into the electricity system.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/apr/08/northern-ireland-court-case-north-south-power-pylon-plan