British renewable energy group Octopus Energy has confirmed its participation in the 10.5 GW Morocco-UK Power Project of Xlinks that aims to deliver wind and solar power from 3.6 GW capacity installed in Morocco to Great Britain via subsea cables.
Xlinks had initially announced the project back in September 2021 stating 10.5 GW solar and wind energy capacity in Morocco out of which 3.6 GW could cater to Great Britain (see 3.6 GW RE From Morocco To Great Britain).
Octopus has now entered a financial and strategic partnership with Xlinks to supply power from a 'mega solar farm' in Moroccan desert to power about 7 million heat pumps in the UK with cheap green power for an average of 20 hours a day. Xlinks will lay four 3,800 km long subsea cables to connect the farm with Devon in South West England.
The 3.6 GW capacity is expected to come online in 2027 and deliver power to the UK at £48 per MWh, stated the duo. They stress this is an opportunity to lower energy bills significantly while strengthening clean energy supply which will lower the region's dependence on Russian gas imports as the UK vows for in its Energy Security Strategy (see Britain Releases New Energy Security Strategy).
Currently, the project is in the development phase. The 2 partners says they are exploring potential offtaking rights for Octopus and an agreement to have the latter's tech platform KrakenFlex increase value of this clean energy to consumers.
"Layering different sources of green energy helps answer the question 'what do we do when the wind's not blowing'. This project is magic because it's all proven technology – on a huge and ambitious scale," said XLinks CEO Simon Morrish.