Today (18 April), National Grid formally launched Viking Link, what it calls the “world’s longest” onshore and subsea interconnector between the UK and Denmark.
Running from Bicker Fen converter station in Lincolnshire to one in southern Jutland, Denmark, Viking Link is sharing British and Danish wind power to aid both countries in their journeys to net zero.
Viking Link is National Grid’s sixth interconnector and the UK’s ninth, and will aim to deliver low-cost, low-carbon power to UK consumers, helping both power grids balance the growing amount of wind power.
The interconnector was initially turned on in December 2023, operating at a reduced capacity of 800MW due to system constraints put in place by the Danish System Operator, Energinet.
Since then, Viking Link has transported 1,733GWh of power between the two countries, and the transmission capacity is expected to to gradually increase to 1.4GW over 2024.
With UK renewable generation capacity set to increase, the UK is anticipated to become a net exporter of power by the 2030s, making Viking Link and other interconnectors particularly valuable.
National Grid estimates that Viking Link alone will bring over £500 million of savings to UK consumers in its first decade of operations, while also providing enough power for approximately 2.5 million households.
Group CEO of National Grid, John Pettigrew, said: “In an ever-changing global energy market, the value that connections like Viking Link can provide to national energy security cannot be understated.
“Over its lifespan, this record-breaking connection will deliver over £5 billion in efficiencies for UK consumers, allow us to trade hundreds of gigawatts in surplus power, and provide an indispensable tool in guaranteeing the continued reliability of our energy system.”
Energy security secretary Claire Coutinho added: “At 475 miles long, Viking Link is the world’s longest land and subsea interconnector. This incredible feat of engineering will help us achieve net zero while strengthening our shared energy security.”
The wider picture
As previously mentioned, Viking Link marks the sixth interconnector National Grid has established. The company launched the UK’s first interconnector (IFA) to France in 1986 and in the years since has built five more, including a second link with France (IFA2) and further connections with The Netherlands (BritNed), Belgium (Nemo Link) and Norway (North Sea Link).
The rapid expansion of the UK’s interconnector network has meant that the country’s interconnector capacity has more than trebled since 2010, from 2,540MW to 8,240MW today, and is expected to increase to 8,840MW at the end of 2024, by which time Viking Link will be operating at full capacity.
Looking ahead, National Grid plans to commission the 1.8GW LionLink interconnector, a joint venture between National Grid Ventures (NGV) and Dutch system operator TenneT as an Offshore Hybrid Asset (OHA).
This interconnector aims to enable the sharing of green energy by connecting Suffolk to both the Netherlands and a Dutch offshore wind farm.
In March 2024, National Grid announced its three chosen location options for the interconnector’s landfall, cable route and converter station.
This announcement followed the project’s second consultation phase in September 2023, which identified five possible cable routes it could take across the region and five possible converter site locations.
With Viking Link’s launch and the pipeline of interconnector projects, including LionLink and Nautilus, National Grid is delivering the infrastructure that will directly enable the deployment of 50GW of offshore wind by 2030.
However, these projects are not always met with success. For example, in March 2023, the Norwegian government refused to grant a license to a 1.4GW proposed interconnector that was to connect Scotland’s electricity network with Norway.
The Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy’s refusal to grant this licence has jeopardised the NorthConnect project. This 650km interconnector is a joint venture between Norwegian companies Lyse, Agder Energi, Hafslund E-Co, and Vattenfall.