Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA) and Octopus Energy have backed a UK clean energy start-up seeking to lay subsea cables between the UK and Morocco.
Xlinks said TAQA and Octopus Energy have provided 拢25m and 拢5m (鈧�28.3m and 鈧�5.6m) respectively in development funding.
As part of the Xlinks Morocco-UK Power Project, Xlinks plans to lay the world鈥檚 longest high-voltage direct current ( HVDC) subsea cables between the UK and Morocco, passing Portugal, Spain and France. The project will generate 10.5GW of zero-carbon electricity from the sun and wind to deliver 3.6GW of energy.
The new electricity generation and battery storage facilities will be located in Morocco鈥檚 Guelmim Oued Noun region and will be connected exclusively to Great Britain via 3,800km HVDC sub-sea cables, to supply 8% of the UK鈥檚 electricity.
Simon Morrish, CEO of Xlinks, said: 鈥淲ith this investment and support from our partners TAQA and Octopus, along with the support received from both the UK and Moroccan Governments, we take another step toward achieving that ambition.
鈥淭he huge potential of the Morocco 鈥� UK Power Project will help the UK accelerate its transition to clean sources of power, increase energy security and reduce consumer bills.鈥�
Jasim Husain Thabet, TAQA鈥檚 group CEO and MD, said: 鈥淎s a champion of low carbon power and water, TAQA鈥檚 investment in the Xlinks project shows that we are serious about helping reduce emissions whilst maintaining the security of energy supply that societies depend on.
鈥淲e are already working on a large-scale HVDC subsea project in Abu Dhabi, and we own and operate one of the world鈥檚 largest solar PV plants. This investment offers the chance to bring both our infrastructure and renewable power expertise to the table to benefit the UK and Morocco.鈥�
Greg Jackson, CEO and founder of Octopus Energy, said: 鈥淭his partnership between Xlinks, TAQA and Octopus enables us to drive forward one of the most visionary energy projects in the world. When people ask 鈥榟ow will you power heat pumps and electric cars when it鈥檚 not windy?鈥�- this is a big part of the answer.
鈥淭his is a new global industry, and the UK and our partners can do it first, helping cement Britain as a leader in the transition to low-cost renewable energy - bringing down bills, powering industry and creating green jobs both in the UK and Morocco.鈥�
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