Operations Other

In its first full operational year (calendar 2024), Viking Link recorded an available technical capacity of 80% per pole, with 28% of technical capacity unused due to ongoing Danish-side AC grid limitations. Across both poles, the link transferred 3.2 TWh of electricity in 2024: 2.5 TWh westbound (Denmark to Great Britain, 41% of pole technical capacity) and 0.7 TWh eastbound (Great Britain to Denmark, 11%). The strong westbound bias reflects Denmark's low-priced surplus wind generation flowing to higher-priced GB market periods under the Single Day-Ahead Coupling mechanism. Unavailability was driven by 9 disturbance outages (eight minor + one four-day ventilation system fire in February), four planned outages (three warranty + one zero-current test), and the 14-day annual maintenance window in August. The bipolar HVDC design means any single-pole fault typically takes the full 1.4 GW link offline. Operational performance was reported by ENTSO-E in its 2024 Nordic HVDC Utilisation and Availability Statistics, published 30 June 2025. Per-pole rated capacity remained 700 MW (1.4 GW combined) with the operational limitation set initially at 800 MW and progressively raised to 1000 MW eastbound / 1100 MW westbound by year-end pending Danish 400 kV West Coast Line completion.