- The United Kingdom has withdrawn from a project to transmit power generated by North Africa’s winds and sun via undersea cables.
- The project involves transmitting electricity via nearly 4,000 km of submarine cables protected by plastic and steel, with minimal transmission loss.
The United Kingdom has withdrawn from a project to transmit power generated by North Africa’s winds and sun via undersea cables and is turning to other projects considered less risky, British energy officials said Thursday.
In a press release, the country’s Department of Energy Security stated that it would no longer support the $33 billion project due to a “high level of inherent risk, related to both delivery and security .”
Dave Lewis, chairman of Xlinks, said in a statement that the company would continue with its project despite the government’s decision.
“We are extremely surprised and bitterly disappointed,” he said, noting that the company believed its plan would provide electricity at lower rates and more quickly than other proposals, including the expansion of nuclear power.
Xlinks is one of a series of projects that reflect how European countries are looking to North Africa for clean energy, testing whether it is cheaper to produce renewable energy in ideal conditions, far from home, and then ship it, or to produce it in-country.
The project involves transmitting electricity via nearly 4,000 km of submarine cables protected by plastic and steel, with minimal transmission loss. If completed, it will be the largest interconnector of its kind, although smaller submarine cable networks already connect the UK to neighbouring European countries.
In addition to Xlinks, transmission projects in Tunisia and Egypt aim to connect solar and wind farms to Italy and Greece.