Danish Energy Minister Greenlights Viking Link

Minister of Energy, Utilities and Climate Lars Christian Lilleholt gave an approval to the Viking Link project, almost 760km long 1,400MW HVDC interconnector that will link the British and Danish transmission systems.

The link will connect the Bicker Fen substation in Lincolnshire, UK, and Revsing substation in southern Jutland, Denmark. Some 635km of the interconnector will run at the bottom of the North Sea.

For Viking Link, the high-voltage grid between Holstebro and the Danish-German border is expanded into two projects. Overall, Denmark will invest more than DKK 11 billion (approx. EUR 1.5 billion) in the three projects, which will be the largest single Danish investment in electricity infrastructure so far.

Minister Lilleholt said that strong electricity connections with other coutries are crucial for a small nation like Denmark. “We will be able to sell our power in a larger market when we have a surplus of renewable energy. At the same time, we will get a larger supply of power to Denmark when the wind does not blow and the sun does not shine,” Lars Christian Lilleholt said.

With increasing volumes of renewable energy in electricity generation, both in Denmark and in the neighbouring countries, Denmark’s international electricity connections mean that the power can be produced where the nature and climate are favourable for wind, water and solar power, and easily transported there where there is a need for it.

“The time has come for us to see energy and climate policy as a strict national topic. We no longer live on isolated ‘energy islands’. Our energy systems and energy markets are already linked, and it is important that they are expanded so that we get the best possible use of energy from wind turbines and solar cells in the future,“ Lilleholt said.

The country will increase exports as a result of the new connection with the UK and, at the same time, it will also increase imports through the new connection to Germany, approved last year.

“The government will ensure that the forthcoming energy initiative as a whole, and including the Viking Link, does not make it more expensive to be Danish or to do business in Denmark. We currently have one of the lowest market prices for electricity in Europe, one of the highest security of supply and one of the highest shares of renewable energy in our electricity system,” Minister Lilleholt said. He added that this is due to, i.a., Denmark’s strong international relations, which lead to supply that is cheaper for consumers.

Offshore WIND Staff