NIB signs 10-year loan to finance Viking Link interconnector

NIB agrees a 10-year loan agreement with Danish TSO Energinet to increase the co-financing to construct the Viking Link, a 760- kilometre 1.4 GW high voltage direct current electricity interconnector between the substations of Revsing in southern Jutland in Denmark, and Bicker Fen in Lincolnshire, Great Britain.

The DKK 1,500 million (EUR 201.67 million) loan will enable the more effective utilisation of renewable energy, access to sustainable electricity generation, and improve the security of electricity supplies.

This is the second 10-year loan signed with Energinet for the Viking Link project. The first loan from NIB of DKK 1,000 million was signed on 18 March 2021.

The Viking Link project is progressing according to plan with December 2023 as completion date. Onshore installation of converters at the stations in Revsing and Bicker Fen are expected to start in the summer of 2022. Offshore, nearly 25% of the sea cable, with a projected capacity of 2 × 700 MW, from the UK has been laid out. The first offshore cable from Denmark is expected to be laid out in the spring of 2022. The total length of the interconnector is approximately 760 kilometres, with 620 km of submarine cable and 65 km and 75 km of onshore cable in Great Britain and Denmark, respectively.

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.

“Energinet’s Viking Link improves the security of electricity supplies and strengthens the northern Europe power grid. Our long-term finance provides added value to the Viking Link, contributing to the green shift and optimised power flows between the UK, Denmark and NIB’s other Nordic and Baltic member countries,” says André Küüsvek, NIB President and CEO.

“Energinet looks forward to expanding the collaboration with NIB which started up in March 2021. NIB is an important strategic partner for Energinet in the overall financing solution for Viking Link, and therefore we welcome this new loan commitment of DKK 1.5 billion,” says Torben Thyregod CFO of Energinet.

Energinet operates, maintains, and develops the transmission systems for electricity and natural gas supply in Denmark. The transmission system operator (TSO) was founded in 2005 by the Danish Ministry of Climate, Energy and Utilities.

NIB is an international financial institution owned by eight member countries: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, and Sweden. The Bank finances private and public projects in and outside the member countries. NIB has the highest possible credit rating, AAA/Aaa, with the leading rating agencies Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s.

For further information, please contact
Søren Hovgaard, Senior Advisor, +45 4081 3575, soren.hovgaard@nib.int
Arild Moen, Communications Manager, +358 10 618 0496, arild.moen@nib.int

Jesper Nørskov Rasmussen, Pressechef, +45 23 33 85 75, jnr@energinet.dk
Morten Falkesgaard Jørgensen, Cheføkonom, +45 23 33 8923, mfa@energinet.dk