Viking Link is 765 km long, stretches over land and under the sea and links Jutland and Lincolnshire.
Its creators expect it to reach an output of 1.4 GW and facilitate the exchange of green energy.
The United Kingdom and Denmark are now a little closer together. At least at the energy level. Taking advantage of the final stages of 2023, the companies Energinet and National Grid have launched the new HVDC interconnector cable linking the British coasts of Lincolnshire with the Jutland peninsula, on the other side of the North Sea. The Viking Link is notable for several reasons that speak volumes about its scope and, above all, its purpose: firstly, at 765 kilometers, it has just become the longest onshore and offshore power cable of its kind in the world; secondly, it will supply power to hundreds of thousands of homes and avoid major carbon dioxide emissions.
Its premiere is also good news for renewables.
Crossing the North Sea. Viking Link is a strategic infrastructure, but also a record-breaking one, as its promoters, the British National Grid and the Danish operator Energinet, have been repeating over the last few months. The link is what is known as a high-voltage direct current electricity interconnector, a HVDC, a high-voltage cable designed to connect the electricity systems of neighboring countries. Its purpose: to enable an exchange of surplus energy, including of course that generated from sun, wind or water.
Viking Link is 765 km long and extends both over land and under the waters of the North Sea. In fact, a large part of the cable, some 620 km, is underwater. The installation is completed by two converter stations in Jutland and Lincolnshire that convert the direct current flowing through the cable into alternating current for the domestic power grids of the two countries. Its promoters insist that at around 770 km long, Viking Link is “the longest power cable connection” in the world.
Big size, big investment. This is not the only fact that has come to light about the new infrastructure. It required an investment that National Grid puts at 1.7 billion pounds, or almost 2 billion euros, and several years of effort during which more than four million man-hours of work were put in. As for its power, although the interconnector will initially operate at 800 MW, its managers assure that it will eventually reach 1.4 GW and will channel enough electricity to supply some 2.5 million homes in the United Kingdom.
National Grid has already done the maths and estimates that during its first decade the cable will save UK consumers more than £500 million by importing cheaper energy and that during its first year alone it will prevent the emission of around 600,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide, equivalent to taking around 280,000 cars off the road.
Why is it important? Because of its dimensions, which set a new record among cables of its type, and because of what it means for the energy market in the old continent. “Viking is an important piece in the green transition of our energy system: Danish power producers can sell green power to a large new market, and we can source it from England when there is no wind at home,” says Energinet, the grid operator in Denmark, a nation noted for its commitment to wind generation.
“Denmark has one of the highest proportions of wind generation in the world, so it’s perfect for connecting, sharing clean electricity and helping the UK and EU meet net zero emissions targets for 2050,” agrees National Grid, which argues that the new connection will help UK households achieve cheaper, greener electricity and strengthen its own “energy security” by adding an extra source of supply.
“As we deploy more wind power to meet climate and energy security targets, connections to our neighboring countries will play a vital role in increasing security of supply and lowering prices for consumers,” says Katie Jackson of National Grid Ventures.
New year, new infrastructure. If Viking Link is in the news, it is because those responsible for it launched it a few days ago, just before the turn of the year: although the cabling work had already been completed in the summer with the help of the Leonardo da Vinci ship, on December 29 Energinet announced the shipment of “the first Danish green energy electrons” to the United Kingdom. The system is intended to allow current to flow both ways between England and Denmark, but the Danish operator acknowledges that the prospect is that, at least for the first few years, the export flow will start mainly from Denmark.
“Interconnectors bring huge benefits to the UK as they act as clean energy superhighways and allow us to move surplus from where it is generated to where it is most needed,” says Rebecca Sedler, a director of National Grid. That means we can import cheaper, cleaner energy from our neighbors when we need it and vice versa.
Important, but not the first. The fact that Viking Link stands out for its features and importance on the energy map does not mean that it is the first of its kind. In fact it is the sixth from the British operator, which already has cables linking the UK with France (IFA and IFA2), the Netherlands (BritNed), Belgium (Nemo Link) and Norway (North Sea Link). Denmark has electrical connections to Norway, Sweden, Germany and the Netherlands.
On the international map, the new infrastructure stands out for its size, although under the oceans there are other equally or even more fascinating cables, such as the ambitious 2Africa, designed to connect Europe, Asia and Africa. Its focus, however, is on telecommunications. There are also initiatives on the table that go beyond the Viking Link, such as the EuroAsia Interconnector, a 2 GW cable that will stretch more than 1,200 kilometers across the waters of the Mediterranean. Its goal: to link Israel, Cyprus, Greece and Europe.