Once complete, the Project will provide 8% of Great Britain’s current electricity needs (3.6GW of reliable, clean power), which is enough to power 7m homes.  This transformational surge in supply will be crucial given the fast-growing demand for electricity.

By displacing expensive, volatile imported gas, it will stabilise and bring down wholesale prices by 9.3%, as well as reduce the UK’s sector CO2 emissions by c.10%, in its first year of operation.

This will go a long way toward supporting the 81% carbon reduction target – set out by the Prime Minister – by 2035, whilst also helping to meet the 19% increase in demand from 2030 to 2035.

Unlike alternative methods of renewable generation, the Morocco – UK Power Project is dispatchable. It can 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).

The Project will diversify the UK’s supply, meaning it will not replace or dismiss existing and future projects in the UK – solar and wind generated here is exceptionally valuable. Instead, it complement these measures, firming up Great Britain’s supply.

This is necessary because the sun and wind is intermittent, with long periods – sometimes weeks at a time – when they generate almost no electricity.

These periods are known as Dunkelflaute, a weather phenomenon that is experienced by the UK and most of Northern Europe, but not Morocco.

The Project will also help create a clean power export opportunity for the UK; generate £19.3bn in socio-economic value for the UK over 25 years; and a £5bn injection into the UK supply chain through local procurement. Importantly, it requires no government investment.

Morocco has become, over the last 10 years, an international leader in the renewable energy. The country has been a forerunner in the development of large, innovative renewable energy projects worldwide.

The strong trading relationship between Morocco and the UK goes back more than 200 years, and Xlinks will strengthen that even further.

The Project is aligned with Morocco’s plan to become a global green hub, unlocking renewable energy export potential to create huge economic and social value. Morocco recognises the value of its wind and solar resources and has great ambition to export such renewable power to Europe.

The Project will realise this ambition and is ready to deliver at scale and at pace.

It will unlock income from the site lease for the Moroccan government; incremental export tax revenues; tens of thousands of jobs, both permanent and temporary during the construction phase; and substantial industrial development through local procurement, while supporting other social and logistical infrastructure within local communities.

The generation facility will be located in the Province of Tan-Tan at a site that is completely unpopulated.