NIRAS and Intertek have been appointed by Energinet.dk and National Grid Viking Link Limited as marine consultants to assist with the permitting of Viking Link, a proposed high voltage direct current (HVDC) interconnector between Great Britain and Denmark.
Betina Heron , Executive Director for Environment and Energy in NIRAS, said: “This contract reinforces our expertise in permitting and EIA for marine infrastructure across multiple jurisdictions and builds on our track-record in offshore wind, ports and harbours.”
The interconnector, which would also cross German and Dutch territories, is expected to comprise a 600-700 km long offshore cable and have a capacity of 1,400 MW.
As marine consultants, NIRAS and Intertek will have an overall responsibility for the delivery of all consent application material for the permit to install the submarine cables for Viking Link in all four countries. The scope of services include: cable route optimisation, marine survey support, preparation of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), Habitat Regulations Assessment (HRA), and stakeholder engagement across all jurisdictions.
The project is currently in the initial development stage and is scheduled to be operational in 2022.
Viking Link will allow Danish electricity producers – owners of conventional power plants as well as wind turbines – to export power to the UK market, where electricity prices are generally higher than in Denmark, while Denmark will be able to import power from England, especially in periods when no wind is blowing, NIRAS explained.