We won't dump UK for Germany: $25bn Morocco-Europe green power mega-project denies switch
Losing out to Germans would be major embarrassment for UK government but developer claims it's 'not either or, but in addition to'
The company behind a $25bn mega-plan to pipe Saharan green power to Europe has insisted it is not planning on dumping the UK for Germany following reports that it is considering its options.
Xlinks is planning to build vast solar and wind farms in the Moroccan desert and transport the clean electricity generated to Europe via an undersea HVDC cable thousands of kilometres long.
Xlinks has always said the plan is to deliver the electricity, 3.6GW of it, to the UK, where it claims it could power over seven million homes and meet around 8% of British electricity needs.
Xlinks remains “committed” to the UK link, said the spokesperson, as its recent appointment of former Shell executive James Humfrey as CEO for Xlinks First to lead the project “clearly demonstrates”.
Xlinks is a majority shareholder in Xlinks First, which is solely responsible for delivering the Morocco-UK link.
“Xlinks Ltd is evaluating the feasibility of other links with markets including Germany,” said the spokesperson. “It is not either or, but in addition to.”
The spokesperson said it was “always our vision” at Xlinks that the project “would serve as a model for further links that support the transition to a clean and sustainable energy.”
“It is in this context that we are exploring the feasibility of additional routes with markets including Germany.”
He imagined a future world in which the UK grid is getting green energy pumped from not just Morocco but other far-flung locations including the US and Iceland, and electricity cables crisscross oceans much like data cables do today.