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Record-breaking power interconnector laid
26/7/2023
News
The British and Danish electricity grids are now physically connected for the first time, following the completion of cable works on the Viking Link interconnector. Stretching for 475 miles, it is the world’s longest land and subsea interconnector, according to project partners UK National Grid and Danish system operator Energinet.
The final section of the high voltage subsea cable, which joins Bicker Fen in Lincolnshire, UK, with Jutland in Denmark, was completed offshore in the North Sea by Prysmian’s cable laying vessel Leonardo da Vinci.
The £1.7bn (€2bn) project is due to be commissioned by the end of the year and will enable the sharing of enough green electricity to power 1.4 million UK homes.
Viking Link is National Grid’s sixth interconnector. The company already has five operational cables joining the UK with France (IFA and IFA2), The Netherlands (BritNed), Belgium (Nemo Link) and Norway (North Sea Link).
Commenting on the project, Rebecca Sedler, Managing Director for Interconnectors, says: ‘Interconnectors bring huge benefits to the UK, acting as clean energy super-highways, allowing us to move surplus green energy from where it is generated to where it is needed the most. That means that we can import cheaper and cleaner energy from our neighbours when we need it, and vice versa… As countries begin to integrate more offshore wind generation into their energy systems, interconnectors will become critical for transporting clean and green energy and helping to manage the intermittent nature of renewable sources.’
Between 2020 and 2030 National Grid expects its interconnectors will have helped the UK to avoid around 100mn tonnes of carbon emissions; and by 2030, 90% of the energy imported through the company’s interconnectors will be from zero carbon energy sources.
Earlier this year National Grid announced plans for a 1.8 GW multi-purpose, hybrid interconnector between the UK and the Netherlands, called LionLink. A second such link, called Nautilus, is also in the planning phase, with the potential to connect with Belgium and supply enough electricity to meet the needs of 1.4 million UK homes.
These offshore hybrid assets (OHAs) are ‘the next phase of interconnection, not only joining two countries together but also connecting with offshore wind generation’, says National Grid. ‘OHAs support UK and European Union (EU) efforts to meet 2030 and 2050 offshore wind targets, speed up the displacement of fossil fuelled power stations and have the potential to reduce the impact on the environment and coastal communities with fewer individual connections,’ it adds.
