Total Energies has acquired a minority stake in an ambitious project to link the UK grid with wind and solar farms in Morocco via subsea cables running along the west coasts of Europe and Africa.
The French oil supermajor’s £20 million investment comes after Octopus Energy Group took a stake in the project last year as part of a partnership that could eventually see Octopus’ retail arm obtain offtake rights for the power imported to the UK.
The developer Xlinks is planning to build 7.5GW of solar panels, 4GW of onshore wind turbines and 5GW/22.5GWh of battery storage in the Guelmim Oued-Nou region in the south of Morroco.
This generation would be connected to the UK by two 1.8GW high-voltage direct current interconnectors that would run along the country’s coast before crossing the Mediterranean Sea in the Strait of Gibraltar. The interconnectors would then hug the coasts of Spain, Portugal and France before crossing the English Channel and coming onshore in Devon.
The four total cables would each be 3,800 kilometres in length, making them the longest subsea interconnectors anywhere in the world.
Xlinks says the consistent sunlight and wind in the south of Morroco, along with the combination of generation and storage, would allow the interconnectors to export electricity to the UK at their maximum capacity of 3.6GW for more than 19 hours each day on average.
The company is seeking support for the project through the government’s Contracts for Difference scheme, which is not currently open to interconnectors or foreign generation.
Commenting on the latest investment from Total Energies, Xlinks chief executive Simon Morrish said: “We are excited to welcome Europe’s largest energy company to be a part of our ambitious vision to foster long distance power exchanges through this iconic partnership with the UK and Morocco.
“Total Energies’ investment goes far beyond capital, providing a rare combination of expertise in areas that meet the unique challenges we face. This marks a highly successful end to 2023 and will give us an even greater impetus to achieve our goals as we enter 2024.”
Vincent Stoquart, senior vice president for renewables at Total Energies, added: “We are delighted to join the Xlinks project and its other investors to support the development of such a pioneering and ambitious endeavour. This innovative project will benefit from our track record in developing large and complex integrated energy projects.”