Suppliers chosen for world’s longest undersea HVDC power cable
The 1.4 GW high voltage direct current (HVDC) interconnector will stretch 472 miles from the Lincolnshire coast to Western Denmark.
Viking Link is a joint venture between National Grid Ventures, part of National Grid, and Danish system operator Energinet. It will consist of two parallel HVDC cables which will be manufactured and installed by Prysmian Powerlink in Italy and NKT HV Cables in Sweden. Prysmian will deliver four of the five cable lots and NKT will deliver the onshore cable lot in Denmark.
Siemens will be supplying and installing equipment for two converter station sites in Lincolnshire, UK and Revsing, Denmark.
The three contracts have a combined value of €1.1bn (£990mn). Viking Link will now move from development to the construction phase, with work in the UK and Denmark beginning next summer. Construction is expected to be completed by the end of 2023.
Viking Link will be National Grid’s sixth interconnector to Europe. The company already has three operational interconnectors to France (IFA), the Netherlands (BritNed) and Belgium (Nemo Link). Two further projects are under construction to France (IFA2, operational 2020) and Norway (North Sea Link, operational 2021).
In the UK,a pair of onshore underground HVDC cables from the landfall site at Boygrfit, East Lindsey will connect to a converter station at North Ing Drove, South Holland, converting from DC to AC. AC cables connect to the National Grid substation at Bicker Fen, Lincolnshire, with new equipment installed in the existing substation.
In Denmark a pair of onshore underground HVDC cables from the west coast of Jutland connect to the existing 400 kV substation Revsing near Vejen, which will have new equpment.
“We’re thrilled to be kicking off such an important project for the UK. Viking Link will play a vital role in helping to decarbonise the UK’s power supply on our journey to a net zero carbon energy system. Interconnectors like Viking Link enable us to use every spare electron, meaning consumers get access to cleaner, cheaper and more secure electricity,” said Jon Butterworth, Chief Operating Officer for National Grid Ventures.
Following the completion of Viking Link, National Grid will have enough interconnector capacity (7.8 gigawatts) to power 8 million homes. By 2030 90% of electricity imported via National Grid’s interconnectors will be from zero carbon sources.
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