The Danish transmission system operator (TSO) Energinet and its British counterpart National Grid have delayed the final investment decision (FID) of the 1.4 GW HVDC Viking Link Interconnector project, linking Denmark and the United Kingdom. Originally scheduled to take place in March 2018, the FID will be pushed back till further clarity is achieved with respect to UK planning consents. The delay will impact the onshore and offshore construction works along with the signing of converter and cable contracts, which means that the summer 2018 deadline will not be achieved. Therefore, the initial commissioning date of end-2022 is not reachable either.
Viking Link is a DKR11bn (€1.48bn) joint project, proposed by Energinet and National Grid. The cable will stretch from Revsing in Jutland (Denmark) to Bicker Fen in Lincolnshire (UK) through the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) of Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK. It includes a 630 km long submarine cable in the North Sea and 140 km of land cables.