NIB signs off €134 million loan for Viking Link interconnector

The Nordic Investment Bank (NIB) has signed a 10-year loan agreement with Danish national transmission system operator Energinet to co-finance the construction of the Viking Link interconnector between the UK and Denmark.

The DKK 1 billion (€134.4 million) loan is expected to enable the more effective use of renewable energy, access to sustainable electricity generation, and improve the security of electricity supplies, NIB said.

The Viking Link consists of 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 plan is to install land and subsea cables with a projected capacity of 2 × 700 MW between 2020 and 2023. A full commissioning of the interconnector is expected in December 2023, according to developers.

The total project cost for Denmark’s part of the project is estimated to be DKK 6.2 billion (€833.8 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, President and CEO of NIB, 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”.

Torben Thyregod, CFO at Energinet, said: “Energinet works for a green transformation of the energy systems, so that citizens and companies can use renewable energy for everything, with a high security of supply and at a price that can be paid.

“In this connection, Viking Link is an important component which ensures efficient utilisation of renewable energy and generally increases security of supply in Denmark. At Energinet, we are pleased that NIB is participating as an important financial partner in Energinet’s largest capital investment to date”.

To remind, Siemens Energy has been put in charge of the UK and Denmark converter stations on both ends of the interconnector link.

The company already started the construction of National Grid’s Viking Link UK converter station at Bicker Fen in Lincolnshire back in November 2020.

Viking Link project is a joint venture between National Grid Ventures, part of National Grid, and Energinet.