Latest news with #Morocco-UKPowerProject
Business Insider
2 days ago
- Business
- Business Insider
UK terminates $34B subsea cable energy agreement in North Africa
The UK government has officially withdrawn its support for the £25 billion ($34.4 billion) Morocco-UK Power Project, a pioneering plan to harness solar and wind energy from the Sahara Desert and transmit it to Britain via the world's longest subsea power cable. The UK government has withdrawn support for the £25 billion Morocco-UK Power Project due to national interest concerns. This project aimed to transmit renewable energy from Morocco to the UK via a 3,800 km subsea power cable. The lack of government-backed contracts reduced investment attractiveness, leading to project termination. The ambitious project, led by British clean energy company, Xlinks, involved laying over 3,800 kilometers of high-voltage subsea cables from Morocco's Guelmim-Oued Noun region to Devon in southwest England, to generate enough electricity to power over 7 million UK homes, accounting for up to 8% of the country's energy needs. Prior to its termination, the inter-continental energy project, which would have harnessed over 10.5 gigawatts of solar and wind power to deliver a steady 3.6 gigawatts of baseload energy, had reportedly cleared environmental permits and was scheduled for construction as early as 2027. Reuters report that over £100 million ($137 million) has already been spent on development and feasibility studies, with significant interest from lenders to fund the construction phase. However, the lack of a government-backed contract for difference and a guaranteed minimum price for electricity made the project riskier and less attractive to investors. Michael Shanks, UK Energy Minister highlighted the reasons for the decision; he said the government had concluded that, 'it is not in the UK national interest at this time to continue further consideration of support for the Morocco-UK Power Project. ' He also cited concerns over economic alignment and a shift toward ' homegrown power ' as part of a broader energy security strategy, adding that the government had concluded that it preferred domestic renewable investments with greater economic and energy security benefits. Reacting to the news of cancellation, Xlinks, Chairman, Dave Lewis said, 'We are hugely surprised and bitterly disappointed that the UK government would choose to walk away from an opportunity to unlock the substantial value that a large-scale renewable energy project like this would bring,' 'We are now working to unlock the potential of the project and maximize its value for all parties in a different way.' He added. The Morocco-UK Power Project At its core, the Morocco-UK Power Project was envisioned as a transcontinental clean energy solution; designed to tap into North Africa 's abundant sunshine and wind to help the UK meet its 2030 net-zero grid ambitions while easing reliance on natural gas. It would have featured 11.5 gigawatts of solar and wind capacity with battery storage to deliver 3.6 gigawatts of steady baseload power. Despite backing from major investors like TAQA, TotalEnergies, Octopus Energy, and GE Vernova, concerns over the project's complexity, transmission length, geopolitical risks, and dependency on a non-European partner ultimately led to the UK's decision to pull back. As global clean energy investment is projected to reach $3.3 trillion in 2025, with two-thirds going towards renewables and storage, the UK's move signals a shift towards resilient, domestic systems over cross-border mega-deals.
TimesLIVE
3 days ago
- Business
- TimesLIVE
R600bn Morocco-UK subsea power project rejected
Britain has rejected a £25bn (R613.76bn) Moroccan renewable energy project that would have used solar and wind power from the Sahara to supply up to 7-million UK homes. The British government, which is aiming to largely decarbonise its electricity sector by 2030, said on Thursday it believed domestic projects could offer better economic benefits. "The government has concluded that it is not in the UK national interest at this time to continue further consideration of support for the Morocco-UK Power Project," energy department minister Michael Shanks said in a written statement to parliament. He also said the project did not clearly align strategically with the government's mission to build homegrown power in the UK. Xlinks' Morocco-UK power project would have tapped Moroccan renewable energy via what would have been the world's longest subsea power cable. The plan involved building 3,800km of high-voltage direct current subsea cables from Morocco to southwest England.
Time of India
4 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
UK backs away from renewable energy project to transport energy underwater from Morocco
The United Kingdom has stepped back from a project to transmit power generated by North Africa's winds and sun via underwater cables and is pivoting to other projects seen as less risky, British energy officials said Thursday. The country's Energy Security Department said in a statement that they would no longer support the $33 billion project due to a "high level of inherent risk, related to both delivery and security." The Morocco-UK Power Project was announced by the British company Xlinks in 2021 as part of an effort to create a global energy grid and ship power from places where it's cheap to produce to high-demand markets. Xlinks said the project would provide an equivalent of 8 per cent of Britain's current electricity needs, or roughly 7 million homes. "There are stronger alternative options that we should focus our attention on," British minister Michael Schanks said in a statement, noting the inherent risk for taxpayers and consumers. The United Kingdom relies heavily on natural gas for its energy needs and aims to generate all of its energy from renewable sources by 2030. It closed its last coal-fired power plant last year and offered partial financing to a raft of wind, solar and energy storage projects to help meet its goal. Such large-scale infrastructure projects typically rely on some governmental support or fixed prices per megawatt-hour. Xlinks was pursuing a fixed price agreement and has already received loans from investors including France's Total Energies and the development bank Africa Finance Corporation. Xlinks Board Chair Dave Lewis said in a statement that the company would continue pursuing the project despite the government's decision. "We are hugely surprised and bitterly disappointed," he said, noting that the company believed its project would offer electricity at cheaper rates and more quickly than other proposals, including to expand nuclear power. Xlinks is one of a slew of projects that reflect how European countries are looking south to North Africa for clean energy, testing whether it's cheaper to generate renewable power in ideal conditions far away and ship it, or to produce it domestically. The project would transmit electricity through nearly 4,000 kilometers of underwater cables encased in protective plastic and steel, with minimal transmission loss. If completed, it would be the largest interconnector of its kind, though smaller subsea cable networks already link the UK to neighboring European countries. In addition to Xlinks, transmission projects in Tunisia and Egypt aim to link solar and wind farms to Italy and Greece Moroccan officials did not respond to questions about the decision.
Morocco World
21-03-2025
- Business
- Morocco World
Former UK Minister: Morocco Key Player in Britain's Clean Energy Mission
Doha – 'Morocco can play a key role in the UK's clean energy mission,' former UK Defence Minister Nick Harvey asserted, as he reflected on the North African country's crucial position in Britain's renewable energy future. In an article published on Thursday in PoliticsHome, the former Liberal Democrat MP for North Devon (1992-2015) outlined how sourcing energy from a country with guaranteed sunshine and wind would support the British government's efforts to reduce energy bills, particularly as British families face rising energy costs. Harvey pointed out that the average British family's dual fuel bill will reach £1,849 per year starting April, following Ofgem's latest price cap announcement, Britain's energy regulator that sets the maximum rate that suppliers can charge consumers. 'Without government action, many frightened families would have been simply unable to afford their monthly bills,' he declared, referring to the impact of Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine on wholesale gas costs. The former minister expounded on the significance of the Morocco-UK Power Project, which is currently being examined by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. He remarked that by building on a 300-year-old trading relationship with Morocco, the project, led by Xlinks and chaired by former Tesco boss Sir Dave Lewis, would supply enough wind and solar energy to power seven million British homes – representing eight percent of Britain's electricity needs. 'The Morocco-UK Power Project could provide an average of 3.6GW for more than 19 hours a day, backed up by battery storage,' Harvey explained. He detailed how the electricity would be transmitted to British soil via four armored HVDC cables extending 2,485 miles (4,000km), buried at least a meter under the seabed, making landfall on Devon's north coast. 'The scheme uses technology the world has been utilizing for 214 years, when the first submarine cable to carry electricity was laid across the Isar River in Bavaria,' he pointed out. The former minister added that these cables would travel through the territorial waters and exclusive economic zones of NATO allies, providing an extra layer of security. Speaking from his experience as a former defense minister in the 2010-2015 coalition government, Harvey emphasized the importance of increasing Britain's ability to withstand geopolitical turmoil. 'Increasing the amount of power generated by renewables will make us less dependent on – and less at the mercy of – foreign dictators,' he argued. The former armed forces minister noted that Morocco's renewable resources could help address the challenge of 'Dunkelflaute' – a German term describing gloomy, still days when neither sun shines nor wind blows. 'Britain's existing renewable power systems are inherently vulnerable to the vagaries of British weather – as the most recent winter demonstrated. In contrast, Morocco's green, desert power can tackle the intermittency of the UK's weather-dependent turbines and solar panels,' he stated. Harvey observed that the project would generate more than £20 billion in socio-economic benefits for the United Kingdom. He mentioned that XLCC, the project's strategic partner, is establishing the world's largest HVDC facility in Scotland to support Xlinks and similar initiatives, creating hundreds of jobs and enhancing workforce skills. Considering the growing energy demands, particularly driven by power-intensive AI technology, Harvey concluded that 'we will need all the tools and innovation at our disposal to meet that demand.' Tags: clean energyMorocco UK relationsXlinks project
