In Morocco’s Guelmim-Oued Noun region, about 12 million solar panels and 530 wind turbines will be planted across 958.296 Km2 of the desert. The power will be transmitted to the UK via a 3,800km HVDC cable that will cross the Atlantic Ocean. The first phase of the project is scheduled to launch in 2029, with the second phase following in 2031. Upon completion, Xlinks will provide 3.6GW of baseload power, which will be stored in a 5GW battery factory in Morocco.
The Xlinks Morocco-UK Power Project is a plan to build 10.5 GW of renewable energy, 20 GWh of battery storage, and a 3.6 GW high-voltage direct current interconnector from Morocco to the United Kingdom.
Morocco’s weather is significantly more stable, therefore the country should provide consistent solar power to the UK even in the dead of winter. Once completed, the 3,800 km cable will be the world’s longest underwater power line, capable of supplying up to 7.5% of the UK’s electrical consumption.
High-voltage direct-current (HVDC) energy lines will run beneath the sea from Britain’s south coast to Guelmim Oued Noun in central Morocco. The Saharan sun and wind will then produce enough energy to power 7 million British homes and 7.5% of the UK’s entire electricity consumption by 2030. A solution that would meet the UK’s energy needs.
The Xlinks project, worth more than 216 billion dirhams, will be capable of supplying energy for 20 hours a day even when the wind is not blowing in the UK. Xlinks has approached the UK government for an agreement in which public subsidies would be used to guarantee set pricing of £48 per megawatt hour for electricity. On the one hand, the strike price for the power supplied by the Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant is £92.50. While on the other hand, Xlinks is going to cost half the price of nuclear and on a much faster timeline.
This budget greener energy added to the English energy system for 20 hours each day will benefit everyone by lowering citizens’ bills.
Morocco is emerging as a new energy supplier as a result of competitive advantages in solar radiation, water, and wind resources, mineral deposits, and metal refining capacity. Over the next five years, it is expected that Morocco will generate an extra 14.4GW from solar and wind energy, which is six times the capacity of its prospective gas projects.
According to Morrish Simon, the CEO of Xlinks, Morocco stands to benefit from the project, which will create 10,000 jobs in-country and aid in the delivery of its industrialization strategy. This forecast for additional renewable power allows Morocco to be the Arab country with the second biggest rise in solar and wind capacity, according to this prediction.
Certainly, the project is ambitious and beneficial to both nations, as it will generate thousands of jobs in Morocco, 2,000 of which will be permanent, and will reinforce the kingdom’s position as a regional and worldwide leader in the field of the energy transition. Nonetheless, this initiative raises concerns regarding its effectiveness and Morocco’s self-sufficiency when it comes to electricity.
Despite these uncertainties, the British corporation remains optimistic, estimating that the first electrical link line between the two kingdoms will be operational in 2027.