NIB finances 1.4 GW Power interconnector between Denmark and UK

Nordic Investment Bank (NIB) signs a 10-year loan agreement with Danish TSO Energinet to co-finance the construction of the Viking Link, a 760- kilometre 1.4 GW high voltage direct current electricity interconnector between the substations of Revsing in southern Jutland, Denmark, and Bicker Fen in Lincolnshire, Great Britain.

The DKK 1 billion (USD159.07 million) loan will enable the more effective utilisation of renewable energy, access to sustainable electricity generation, and improve the security of electricity supplies.

The plan is to install land and submarine cables with a projected capacity of 2 × 700 MW between 2020 and 2023. A full commissioning of the interconnector is expected in December 2023. The total project cost for Denmark’s part of the project is estimated to be DKK 6.2 billion (USD986.25 million).

Given the location and time difference between the two price areas, the interconnection will allow benefits to be drawn from various generation conditions, the time difference and the associated consumption peaks, as well as to share renewable energy between both countries and beyond.

Henrik Normann, NIB President & CEO, said: “The main reason for strengthening this section of the northern Europe power grid is to accommodate for optimal power flows between the UK, Denmark, the Netherlands and Germany”.