What’s the Viking Link interconnector?

Viking Link is an HVDC electricity link between the British and Danish transmission system operators, National Grid and Energinet respectively, with a capacity of 1,4GW. With its impressive length of 765 km, Viking Link is the longest HVDC interconnector to date.

The Viking Link connects the converter station at Bicker Fen in Lincolnshire, UK to the converter station at Revsing in the Southern Jutland region of Denmark via 2 parallel 765 km cables.

Was the Viking Link project a success?

The construction of the interconnector began in 2019 and concluded at the end of 2023. The project involved construction of converter sites and installation of 1250 km of off-shore and 135 km of on-shore cables in both countries.

Is there high interest toward the Viking Link interconnector?

Time2Market has gotten in touch with Jeppe Munck, Senior Economist at Energinet, who has given us some insight into the interest and difficulties when gaining access to the Viking Link:

“We’ve seen about 25 cases of market participants engaging in the registration toward Viking Link, which we think is a good amount of interested parties, considering the cumbersome registration procedure,” says Jeppe.  

“You have to be a registered Balance Responsible Party (BRP) toward both Energinet and the National Grid in the UK, as well as a specific registration toward Viking Link. You also need to look at custom declarations and CBAM. Our previous interconnector to go into operation, the COBRAcable, has much simpler requirements, for example, as it links to the Netherlands, which is within EU and thereby SDAC.”

As Energinet and National Grid have noticed the increased confusion and delays in applications related to CBAM, which has just entered into force, they have organized a webinar, where they will answer as many questions as they can regarding the Viking Link operations and requirements. You can register via the Energinet website.

Furthermore, as Morten Pindstrup, International Chief Engineer at Energinet, recently shared, “25-30% of the potential interconnector revenue is not realized to the benefit of consumers, but is left with the market participants who ensure the power flows.” You can read Morten’s analysis of Viking Link on LinkedIn.

Is the Viking Link operational?

On December 28th, 2023, the interconnector went into operation for the first time with Day-Ahead and Intraday auctions. The first Day-Ahead auction with non-zero values had a delivery day of December 29^th, 2023, while the first Intraday auction with non-zero values opened at 5:00 CET on December 29^th, 2023.

Can market participants book capacity on the monthly and yearly spreads via the Viking Link?

The March monthly auction, the first long-term Auction on Viking Link, was launched on February 20^th, 2024. The product was available on JAO with an allocated capacity of 100MW in both directions.

Senior Economist at Energinet Jeppe Munck clarifies that Viking Link will continue offering long-term auctions for April and the rest of the year, as well as quarterly and yearly auctions. He expects that the first yearly capacity auction on Viking Link, for 2025, will take place during the fall.

Is the Viking Link operating at full capacity?

What is Viking Link’s operational status?

Since the go-live date, the interconnector has been operating with a reduced capacity of 800 MW to secure the stability of the Danish power grid. The cap has been introduced after thorough analysis and calculations, aiming to ensure the power grid is not overloaded.  

“It is relevant to add, that the remaining capacity is released in the intraday auctions, whenever possible. If we take March the 5th as an example, the remaining capacity was released in all 24 hours, and with 19 EUR/MWh as the highest price (hour 9, 08:00-09:00).

It is quite frequently we release more capacity,” explains Jeppe Munck.

How is the West Jutland power grid being developed?

Energinet is currently working on expanding the 400kV high-voltage grid in West Jutland, from Idomlund to the Danish-German border, otherwise known as the West Coast connection. This expansion is expected to increase the capacity of the West Jutland power grid, enabling Viking Link to operate at its full capacity without threatening the stability of the grid.

Originally, the development of the West Jutland grid and the construction of the Viking Link were supposed to conclude simultaneously. However, due to delays caused by environmental concerns, the expansion of the grid is still in progress.  

When is Viking Link expected to operate at full capacity?

“We expect the Viking Link will operate at full capacity toward Q1 2025, as the new lines, which are vital for Viking Link, will be put in place during the first quarter. The expansion will continue after that, adding additional high-voltage lines, which will mostly serve off-shore wind farms in the north. The enforcement of the West Jutland grid was accepted as part of the same business case as Viking Link, and it has always been a prerequisite for the full operational capacity of the new interconnector,” says Jeppe Munck.

Jeppe explains further, that Energinet is working on upgrading multiple power stations this year, which might allow for a lower capacity restriction on the Viking Link.

What is Viking Link’s full operational capacity?

At full capacity, the Viking Link will operate at 525 kV DC and will allow up to 1,4 GW of power to be transported between the Danish and British power grids. This comes out to an approximate annual transmission capacity of 12,3 TWh.

What is Viking Link’s route?

What does the Viking Link route map look like?

The Viking Link route comprises of 67 km of on-shore HVDC cables in the UK, 650 km of off-shore submarine HVDC cables, buried in the seabed of the North Sea, and 43 km of on-shore HVDC cables in Denmark.

How does the Viking Link connect to the Danish power grid?

Underground HVDC cables connect to the off-shore Viking Link cables and transport the DC electricity to the existing Revsing substation, where the power is converted to an alternating current of 400kV to enter the Danish grid, or to a direct current of 525kV for transport to the UK.

How does the Viking Link connect to the British power grid?

67 km of on-shore HVDC cables carry the direct current power from the British coast to a converter station, where the electricity is converted between DC and AC. HVAC cables then transport the AC power to the existing Bicker Fen substation, where it is then flown into the British power grid.

Please note that this article was published on March 7^th, 2024 and time-sensitive information in it may be outdated. You can consult the original sources on the official Viking Link website, Energinet or National Grid.