- The UK government withdrew support for the Morocco-UK Power Project, citing high delivery and security risks.
- The £25B Xlinks project aimed to supply 8% of UK power via the world’s longest subsea cable, but officials now see better value in homegrown solutions.
The UK has withdrawn support for a significant renewable energy project designed to supply solar and wind power from Morocco. The project planned to send electricity from southern Morocco’s Tan-Tan province to the UK through a 4,000km underwater cable, the longest in the world.
However, British energy officials said the government is now shifting its focus to projects seen as less risky. They explained that the Morocco-UK Power Project carried high delivery and security risks.
The British government aims to decarbonise its electricity sector by 2030. Yet, it concluded that this £25 billion ($33 billion) project no longer aligns with the national interest.
Energy Department Minister Michael Shanks said in a written statement to Parliament, “The project does not support our strategy to build more homegrown energy.”
Previously, the Conservative government had marked the project as nationally significant. Still, it faced major financial and regulatory challenges.
British company Xlinks first announced the plan in 2021. The idea was to create a global energy grid by exporting electricity from low-cost regions to high-demand markets. Xlinks claimed the project could meet 8% of the UK’s electricity needs, enough for around seven million homes.
According to Xlinks, the power link would have cut wholesale electricity prices by 9% and reduced the sector’s carbon emissions by 10%.
However, Mr Shanks said the UK has stronger, safer alternatives. He stressed that protecting taxpayers and consumers must come first.
The UK still depends heavily on natural gas. Yet, it has set a goal to generate all electricity from renewable sources by 2030. In 2024, it shut down its last coal-fired power plant and began funding wind, solar, and energy storage projects.
Large infrastructure projects like this usually need government guarantees. Xlinks requested a 25-year contract with fixed electricity prices and secured investments from France’s TotalEnergies and the Africa Finance Corporation.
Despite the setback, Xlinks says it will continue to pursue the project. Chairman Dave Lewis, a former Tesco CEO, said the team was “hugely surprised and bitterly disappointed” by the government’s decision.
He insisted the project could deliver cheaper electricity faster than nuclear power. He added that investors had already spent over £100 million on development and that funding interest for the next phase remains strong.
“We are now working to unlock the project’s potential and deliver value in new ways,” Lewis said.
The Morocco-UK project is part of a broader trend. European countries are exploring clean energy imports from North Africa. These efforts test whether generating renewable energy abroad and transmitting it or producing it locally is more cost-effective.
If built, the Xlinks cable would be the world’s largest interconnector. Similar but smaller cables already link the UK with countries like France and Norway. Other proposed projects in Tunisia and Egypt aim to connect with Italy and Greece.
Britain is a leader in renewable energy in Europe. Still, it lags behind Scandinavian countries that rely heavily on wind and hydroelectric power.
The UK has pledged to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 81% by 2035 and reach net zero by 2050. It recently committed over £30 billion to expand nuclear energy to meet these targets, viewing it as essential for energy security and climate goals.