The Economist | Why don't more countries import their electricity?
[Illustration by Nick Little]
A recent deep-dive in The Economist asks the question: why don’t more countries import their electricity?
The article looks at the many factors that hold back power trading in some parts of the world, despite ever-pressing Net Zero goals.
One key statistic shows that in 2023, "only 2.8% of the world’s electricity was traded internationally".
However, the article also states that some efforts are being made to improve on this - including the Morocco - UK Power Project.
It reads: "Since Europe has shown the potential for long-distance connections, more ambitious projects are being started.
"A cable is being laid from Greece to Cyprus, a daunting task given the 900km distance and the depth of the Mediterranean.
"Other models offer one-way transmission, such as a proposed cable from Morocco to Britain.
"Xlinks, the firm behind it, argues that the combination of wind at night, sun during the day and batteries as needed means it can provide both baseload and peaking power.
"Sun Cable, the firm hoping to connect Australia and Singapore, offers a similar mix over an even greater distance."
The Economist article can be found here: https://lnkd.in/dGfaN-69
Long-distance transmission is key theme at IRENA Assembly
This week kicked off with one of the most important events in our calendar: the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) Assembly.
The two-day occasion in Abu Dhabi convened 170 Member States, academia, development banks, CEOs and youth, in a cross-sectoral collaboration on the energy transition.
It was a pleasure to be invited, and even more so to have the CEO of our Morocco – UK Power Project, James Humfrey, take part in a panel on ‘unlocking grid financing’.
Several panel members pointed out the need for long-distance transmission, which is something we at Xlinks are working hard to make happen.
"We had a good panel on unlocking grid financing, and it was great to hear comments from a number of panel members pointing out the need for long-distance transmission in grid plans," said James.
"We are working hard to make it happen!"
Rapidly increasing demand will be met in a fully renewable fashion if we view the world as ‘one grid’, linking centres of abundant resource to centres of demand.
The coming together of such a diverse group of stakeholders continues to prove incredibly important in the global Net Zero mission.
COMMENT: NESO notices show need for diverse supply
Last week, the National Energy System Operator issued a capacity market notice for the third time this winter.
The notice was later cancelled, but it has sparked conversation across the industry.
In layman’s terms, this was a warning: the grid was going to struggle to meet demand.
It was cold, so demand was higher, and it was not a particularly windy day in the UK, meaning wind plants had been generating very little electricity.
The purpose of the notice was to get the market to respond by ramping up and turning on other means of generation - or reversing the flow of interconnectors - to meet the increased demand.
In such instances, the market always responds, and the lights stay on. However, gas plants are often used to compensate.
This is not clean power, and as more gas plants are retired, this will become increasingly more difficult.
Speaking on the matter, James Humfrey, CEO of the Morocco – UK Power Project, said: "We should rightly be proud of the progress the UK has made in its energy transition to net zero. But the last few days have served as a stark reminder of how susceptible our energy supply is to severe weather conditions.
"Ensuring that supply is diversified as much as possible should be a key priority for the government as it seeks to deliver clean power 2030.
"The problem with the UK’s geography is that the weather patterns are highly correlated. This so called Dunkelflaute effect - when the sun doesn't shine and the wind doesn't blow - does leave us at risk of what we've seen this week - a perfect storm of poor weather increasing energy demand at the same time as reducing generation from renewable sources.
"The warnings we've seen this week from NESO and the industry are an important reminder of our exposure to poor weather conditions. It highlights why we need more diversity in our renewable energy mix to reduce our exposure when the sun doesn't shine and the wind doesn't blow - and our over-reliance on expensive imported gas as a backup."
James continued: “Recent events highlight the need to identify firm flexible power sources that complement our more renewables-based energy system. To avoid relying on imported gas in these winter months, we have to look to other forms of low carbon generation that can be delivered at sufficient scale to help plug the gaps during periods of adverse weather.
“This tightness in the energy market highlights the need for a diversity of power sources to support the UK’s increasing energy demand, and deliver when the wind isn’t blowing and the sun isn’t shining.
"Dedicated solar power that is negatively correlated with the UK’s weather patterns presents a real opportunity to guarantee our energy security and reduce our reliance on expensive imported gas.”
Our Morocco – UK Power Project and the broader idea of a global grid will prove very important in the Net Zero transition.
Trade winds in Morocco are consistently strong and do not correlate with those in the UK, meaning any gaps left by intermittency here will be plugged.
The Project can also increase or decrease supply in sub-second response times, which is necessary to balance the grid and will help Britain to avoid balancing costs associated with, for example, having to use Combined Cycle Gas Turbines (CCGTs).
COMMENT: AI plans must consider clean power goals
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has laid out plans to ‘turbocharge AI’ in the UK.
The sector presents a real opportunity to drive productivity and growth, but what impact will this have on energy?
James Humfrey, CEO of the Morocco – UK Power Project, comments:
“The AI sector presents a real opportunity to drive UK productivity and growth but to deliver on this opportunity we need to ensure we can meet the considerable and rapidly growing energy demand that will be required, particularly in conjunction with 2030 clean power goals. It is welcome that the government has established an AI Energy Council to ensure we identify those clean energy sources we will need.
“To power always-on and energy-intensive AI and datacentres, we need solutions that provide firm and flexible low-carbon power regardless of weather conditions, to complement our increasingly renewables-based energy system.
“This is where solutions such as interconnectors will be critical to our energy mix. When the wind doesn’t blow and the sun doesn’t shine, solar and wind power that is negatively correlated with the UK’s weather patterns presents a real opportunity to guarantee a firm and secure clean energy supply to help to meet the considerable demand from datacentres and AI.”
PHOTOS | A fantastic mix of guests at Xlinks' festive gathering
The final Xlinks event of the year was one to remember.
We held a festive gathering at Portcullis House on Monday, where we were very happy to be joined by lots of attendees, from politicians and journalists to close colleagues and friends of the business.
It was a great evening filled with relaxed yet important conversations on our Morocco – UK Power Project, as well as wider discussion on the global Net Zero transition.
A huge thank you to Alex Sobel MP for sponsoring the event.
Xlinks CIO shines spotlight on Morocco at Investor Mission
Invest Africa hosted the Investor Mission in Casablanca and Rabat this week.
The event - which is a staple in our calendar - shone a spotlight on Morocco's ongoing potential as a hub for climate-friendly industrial energy, infrastructure, and strategic investments.
Xlinks Chief Investment Officer, Hamish McPherson, attended the four day conference.
When speaking, he shared why Morocco brings an environment for investment that finance and commercial interests worldwide are turning towards en masse.
This includes geo-political stability that is increasingly in short supply, and a coherent strategy for economic growth.
"At Xlinks, we are incredibly proud that we may have the opportunity to contribute to this world-leading economic strategy, through the Morocco-UK Power Project, which will operate for 50 years, as a strategic alliance between Morocco and the UK," said Hamish, "bringing enough renewable energy from the Province of Tan-Tan to Devon in the UK to power 7 million homes.
Hamish also enjoyed hearing from industry experts and leading investors during the event.
The Rest is Politics | Xlinks project is 'really interesting' and 'very innovative', says Alastair Campbell
Alastair Campbell has spoken on the Xlinks Morocco - UK Power Project to two huge audiences this week.
The first mention was on his podcast, The Rest is Politics.
Alastair was talking about how the government must embrace big projects in 2025 to kickstart a ‘much bigger plan for growth’.
He then went on to mention the Project: “I had a very interesting meeting last week with a business guy who is involved in a project to feed big parts of our energy grid with power generated in different parts of Africa.
“It’s really, really interesting. Very innovative. British people doing some pretty big, dramatic things.
"And it’s not necessarily, by the way, going to cost government loads and loads of money, but government obviously would need to get engaged in it. I think we just need a bit more of that sense of: big project, big purpose, big idea.”
Then, later in the week, Alastair appeared on BBC's Question Time.
Speaking on the affordability of the Net Zero transition, he said: “There is some amazing stuff going on…I was talking to a business guy - British, British company - they are putting together this huge project, massive solar farm in Morocco, but it is energy that’s going to come into our grid," said Alastair.
"I think those sorts of projects, where government is giving support - it doesn’t necessarily involve government money, but where government is setting a strategic course.”
The Xlinks team were very grateful to Alastair for this and share synergy with his words. Big ideas are exactly what is needed in the global transition to Net Zero.
The Morocco - UK Power Project deeply compliments the government’s ambition to make Britain a green energy superpower.
It will bring 3.6GW of firm, flexible, clean power for more than 19 hours per day; help to meet the 19% increase in demand from 2030 to 2035, as forecasted by NESO; and the Project will also reduce Britain’s power sector CO2 emissions by around 10% in its first year of operation, supporting the UK’s 2035 emissions reduction target of 81% by 2035.
Perhaps most importantly in the context of the podcast, it does not require any government investment.
The Rest is Politics Episode 346 can be found by clicking here.
The Question Time episode can be accessed via this link.
WATCH | Xlinks' James Humfrey talks finance on Proximo Infra podcast
Morocco - UK Power Project CEO James Humfrey appeared on Proximocast this week.
Speaking with host and Exile Group Editor-at-Large Tom Nelthorpe, James talks about developing and financing our 4,000km international sub-sea transmission cable.
You can watch the episode below, or by visiting the Proximocast website by clicking here.
Energy Voice | 'Xlinks supply could improve UK grid resiliency from 2030s'
The Xlinks Morocco-UK Power Project "could help balance the UK grid and improve resiliency when it launches in the early 2030s".
A story published by Energy Voice this week delves into how grid resiliency would benefit from “scale and diversity of inputs and outputs”
Those were the words of our Project CEO James Humfrey, who said: "One of the advantages of subsea transmission cables is you’ve actually got some flexibility where you come on shore. And one of the advantages in discussion with National Grid of coming in at Alverdiscott is that you don’t need grid upgrades there."
He added: “The Southwest is a part of the country with high power demand, and therefore bringing supply into that corner of Great Britain is actually very advantageous from a grid perspective – it could save £5 billion in dispatchability costs."
Read the full story by clicking here.
The Guardian | Former Tesco boss wants to send power from Morocco to Great Britain
Image credit: Martin Godwin/The Guardian
Xlinks Chair, Sir Dave Lewis, has been talking to The Guardian about what inspired him to join the Board, and how the Morocco-UK Power Project could transform the way Britain thinks about energy.
He told Jillian Ambrose how the Project will bring 3.6GW of firm, flexible, clean power to Britain for 19 hours a day, supporting the UK’s 2035 emissions reduction target of 81% by 2035, whilst also helping to meet the 19% increase in demand from 2030 to 2035 as forecasted by National Energy System Operator.
Sir Dave also emphasised the supply is dispatchable, meaning it can increase or decrease supply in sub-second response times, helping to balance the grid and avoiding associated balancing costs.
Read the full story by clicking here.