Xlinks Morocco–UK Power Project

The Xlinks Morocco-UK Power Project is a proposal to create 10.5 GW of renewable generation, 20 GWh of battery storage and a 3.6 GW high-voltage direct current interconnector to carry solar and wind-generated electricity from the Kingdom of Morocco to the United Kingdom.[1][2][3][4] Morocco has far more consistent weather, and so should provide consistent solar power even in midwinter.

Morocco–UK planned link map

If built, the 3,800 km (2,400 miles) cable will be the longest undersea power cable by far, and would supply up to 7.5% of the UK's electricity consumption.[5] The first phase of the project is expected to be operational in 2029, with the second phase due in 2031.[6]

Current status

As of May 2022, Xlinks had secured "up to" £40 million in development funding for the project, and it was reported to be close to appointing bankers to help raise the billions of pounds of investment funding required.[7]

Sky Business News reports that the company has "held extensive discussions with the [UK] government about its plans, which are drawing particular interest in Whitehall".[7]

In August 2023 Xlinks was declared a project of “national significance” by Claire Coutinho, the UK’s new energy secretary.[8]

Power generation

Generation is proposed from a solar farm covering around 200 km2 (77 square miles), together with a wind farm of approximately 1,500 km2 (580 square miles), complemented by a 20 GWh / 5 GW battery.[4] The planned total generating capacity is a nominal 10.5 GW.[3][1]

Location
Solar resources in Morocco and Western Sahara
Wind Power Density in Africa[9]

The wind and solar farms will be located in the Guelmim-Oued Noun region of Morocco.[4] The region has excellent generating characteristics:

  • The desert location has sunshine with the third highest Global Horizontal Irradiance (GHI) in North Africa.[4][10]
  • The consistently strong winds blow from the North and North-West. Mountain ranges inland from the coast concentrate the wind and enjoy some of the highest onshore wind power densities in Africa.[11]

Daily consistency

The PV component will generate electricity during daylight hours, and the PV panels will move to track the sun to increase output in the morning and the evening. In Morocco, the prevailing winds blow most strongly in the afternoon and early evening, driven by the temperature difference between the Sahara Desert and the cooler Atlantic Ocean. These generating characteristics, combined with battery back-up, should allow the cable to run at full capacity for approximately 20 out of each 24 hours in the day.[4]

Seasonal consistency

Because of the intense year-round sunshine, solar panels are expected to produce three times more energy than they would in the UK. The panels will generate throughout the year, including the winter months when, in Britain, sunshire is scarce and the days are short. The reliable prevailing winds will generate power consistently, even at times of low winds in Europe.[4]

Interconnector cable

Route

If built, the undersea cable will run from landfall near Tan-Tan in southern Morocco to National Grid connection points at Alverdiscott near the north coast of Devon, England.[4]

The cable will follow the shallow water route from Morocco to Great Britain,[4] going to a maximum depth of 700 metres (2,300 ft).[2] Following the continental shelf is longer than the direct route, but is less technically challenging[4] and avoids the abyssal depths of the Bay of Biscay.

The cable route passes Spain, Portugal and France, but is not planned to have any electrical connection to these countries.[4] This will massively simplify obtaining permits from those countries.[5]

Technical specification

The 3.6 GW interconnector is planned to consist of two independent 1.8 GW circuits, each with separate positive and negative cables.[4][1]

Manufacture

Xlinks proposes to manufacture the submarine power cables through a separately financed subsidiary, XLCC, and has secured manufacturing sites in Hunterston, Scotland, on Teesside and at Port Talbot in Wales, which are now "under development".[7] As of November 2021, production is planned to start in 2024,[1] and it will take four years to produce the cables required by the project.[7]

Project promoter

The project developer, XLinks Ltd., is a start up,[3] and this is its first project,[1] but according to the Business editor of Sky News it does have a "heavyweight board".[7]

  • Its UK Executive chairman is former Tesco chief executive Sir Dave Lewis.[3]
  • The founder and CEO is Simon Morrish, who is a serial entrepreneur and provided most of the £30M seed funding.[5]
  • Xlinks has received the support of several "major energy sector names", including Paddy Padmanathan, CEO and president of ACWA Power, Yoav Zingher, former CEO of KiWi Power and Kevin Sara, chairman and CEO of Nur Energie.[5]
  • Sir Ian Davis, former chairman of Rolls-Royce Holdings, has also been recruited as a non-executive director.[7]

Project economics

The cost is estimated at £16bn,[3] of which half will be for the interconnector cabling.[5]

Though transmission losses for such a long cable will be relatively high at 13%,[2] power should be available even at times when neither solar nor wind power available in the UK,[4] when prices will be higher.

Xlink believe the project will be economically viable if they can secure contracts for difference to supply electricity at £48/MWh.[3][1][7]

Project history

Xlinks, the project sponsor, was created in 2018.[3] Xlinks Ltd. was incorporated in March 2019.[12]

In September 2021, XLink stated that they "have secured with the Moroccan government an area of about 1,500 km2 [580 square miles] for a combined wind and solar farm in Morocco".[3]

By October 2021, Xlinks had stated that they have reached agreement with National Grid plc for two 1.8 GW HVDC connections to the GB National Grid in Devon.[4][13]

In March 2022, Intertek completed a Permit Feasibility Study, which "outlines in detail the process Xlinks must follow to obtain the permits to survey the proposed route, install the cable system and complete the necessary maintenance throughout the project's operation life."[14]

In March 2022, XLinks commissioned Intertek to provide Quality Assurance and technical advice on marine cable routing, survey specification and procurement.[15]

In May 2022, Octopus Energy invested in the project.[16]

See also

References
  1. Grundy, Alice (25 September 2021). "Moroccan solar-plus-wind to be linked to GB in 'ground-breaking' Xlinks project". Current. Retrieved 2022-05-02.
  2. Chris Baraniuk (22 October 2021). "How to plug the UK into desert sunshine". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  3. Leslie Hoo (26 September 2021). "UK start-up plans world's longest subsea electric cable with Morocco". ft.com. Financial Times. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  4. "Morocco-UK Power Project". xlinks.co. Xlinks. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  5. JASON DEIGN (4 December 2020). "Xlinks Revives Desertec's Dream, With a Few Twists". Greentech Media. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  6. "Answer to UK's energy needs is blowing in the Moroccan wind". AGBI. 3 October 2022. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  7. Mark Kleinman (29 April 2022). "Clean energy start-up Xlinks eyes investor backing for revolutionary £16bn project". Sky News. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
  8. Geschwindt, Siôn (2 October 2023). "£20B plan to power the UK with Moroccan sunshine might actually go ahead". TNW | Sustainability. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
  9. "Global Wind Atlas". Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  10. "Global Solar Atlas". World Bank Group. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
  11. "Global Wind Atlas". Technical University of Denmark, and World Bank Group. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
  12. "XLINKS LIMITED Company number 11891505". Companies House – Register. Companies House. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
  13. "Massive Solar Plus Wind Morocco Project Source of Power for UK". Advanced Batteries & Energy Storage Research. 4 October 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  14. "Intertek Delivers Permit Feasibility Study for the World's Longest Proposed Subsea Cable Between the UK and Morocco". Intertek. 11 March 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  15. "Intertek to Support Xlinks Morocco-UK Power Project with Marine Cable Routing and Survey Procurement". Intertek. 9 March 2022. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  16. Alice Grundy (12 May 2022). "Octopus invests in Morocco-UK power project Xlinks as it signs strategic partnership". Current +/-. Current-news. Retrieved 13 May 2022. Octopus Energy Group has entered a financial and strategic partnership with Xlinks, the company behind a project to link the UK with solar power in Morocco.
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