The plan to bring solar power from the Sahara desert to the UK via the world's longest subsea cable has appointed a chief executive to lead its key next stages, which include commissioning a giant cable-laying ship and building a cable-making factory.
Xlinks, the company behind the project, said it expects to commission the colossal 700-foot ship this year, to lay four parallel cables to link seven solar farms in Morocco providing 3.6 gigawatts (GW) of power with a sub-station in North Devon.
The ship is likely to cost several hundred million pounds, a company spokesman told the Telegraph. “Designs for the ship are complete and we expect to commission it later this year.”
A £1.4 billion factory to make the high voltage direct current (HVDC) cable was granted planning permission in Scotland last year, with a £9m Scottish Enterprise grant awarded, with around 10,000 miles of cable needed.
Today, private energy-owned Xlinks appointed James Humfrey from Abu Adhabi's state energy company as its new chief executive, saying the project "now requires a dedicated CEO"
Humfrey's 25 years of experience includes leading capital project development and business development at ADNOC and as Shell's downstream M&A chief.
Last September, the Morocco-UK project gained government backing, with the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero confirmed that the Morocco-UK project is of "national significance" and will require development consent.
At full intended capacity, the project's energy generation potential will surpass that of the Hinkley Point C nuclear plant and what Xlinks says should be a fraction of the cost.
Notable investors including the Abu Dhabi National Energy Company, TotalEnergies and Octopus Energy.
Simon Morrish, founder and current group CEO of Xlinks, said the Morocco project is the company’s first project, "and we have other markets that are excited to harness the enormous benefits that long distance HVDC connectors can deliver to help solve the intermittency of renewables.
"We expect the Morocco-UK Power Project will serve as a model for future initiatives.”