High interest to the Viking Link interconnector between Denmark & UK

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 Hedegaard 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 29th, 2023, while the first Intraday auction with non-zero values opened at 5:00 CET on December 29th, 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 20th, 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?

What is Viking Link’s full operational capacity?

What is Viking Link’s route?

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

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

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Please note that this article was published on March 7th, 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.