UK-based investment firm Octopus Energy has signed an agreement with UK developer Xlinks to develop a 10.5 GW wind-solar project in Morocco and connect the facility to the UK power system via a submarine cable.
Octopus Energy said: “Xlinks will accelerate the UK’s transition to net zero by laying four 3,800km long submarine cables linking a huge renewable energy farm in the Moroccan desert to Devon in south west England. It will provide the UK with 3.6 gigawatts of reliable and clean electricity for an average of 20 hours a day, enough to power around 7 million heat pumps throughout the year."
The Xlinks project is expected to sell electricity at £48 ($59.7)/MWh.
Octopus Energy said: “The partnership is helmed by a team of energy experts and business entrepreneurs, including Chairman Sir Dave Lewis, CEO Simon Morris and Project Director Nigel Williams, who are responsible for Overseeing the North Sea link, the world's longest subsea interconnection linking the UK and Norway, was delivered on time and under budget."
Octopus Energy claims to be the fourth largest energy company in the UK. It is also one of the largest renewable energy investors in Europe.
Xlinks CEO Simon Morrish revealed details of the ambitious project in an April 2021 interview with pv magazine. He said the huge complex would be connected via high voltage direct current to the UK grid (HVDC) transmission lines at Alverdiscott in Devon, Wales and Pembroke. This will consist of four separate cables and will be the longest subsea power transmission link in the world. The company plans to sell electricity to the UK grid under a contract for difference (CfD) scheme.
The cable will traverse international waters and enter the territorial waters of European countries such as Portugal, Spain and France.