Octopus Energy has entered into a financial and strategic partnership with Xlinks, the company aiming to build a subsea power cable to deliver renewable energy from Morocco to the UK.
Xlinks plans to lay four 3800-km-long subsea cables to connect a renewable energy farm in the Moroccan desert with Devon in South West England.
The site will supply 3.6GW of reliable, clean power to the UK for an average of 20 hours a day.
The companies are also exploring potential off-taking rights for Octopus.
They are also considering an agreement that would see Octopus’s proprietary technology platform KrakenFlex being used to increase value to consumers, and the opportunity to power millions of heat pumps all year round with cheap green electricity.
Xlinks said that if the project is operational by 2027 it is expected to deliver power at £48 per megawatt-hour, comparable with offshore wind at 2012 Contract for Difference strike prices.
Xlinks Morocco-UK Power Project is in the development phase, undertaking economic, environmental and archaeological impact assessments.
It would comprise a hybrid plant powered by solar and wind energy combined with a 5GW battery storage facility, located in Morocco’s Guelmim Oued Noun region.
The battery will provide a dedicated, near-constant source of flexible and predictable clean energy for Britain, designed to complement the renewable energy already generated across the UK, according to XLinks.
The partnership is led by a team of energy experts and business entrepreneurs, including chairman Dave Lewis, XLinks chief executive Simon Morrish and project director Nigel Williams, who oversaw North Sea Link linking the UK and Norway.
Greg Jackson, founder of Octopus Energy Group, who also personally invested in the project a number of years ago to demonstrate his support, said: “Going green will cut energy costs for Britain. Freeing ourselves from volatile fossil fuels was already important to help combat climate change, but it’s now clear we need to do this for affordability and security
“Layering different sources of green energy helps answer the question ‘what do we do when the wind’s not blowing’.
“This project is magic because it’s all proven technology – on a huge and ambitious scale. The renewables revolution has not just begun, it’s now accelerating at an unprecedented pace for the good of people and the planet.”
Morrish said: “The investment demonstrates the ambition of both Xlinks and Octopus to deliver a cheaper, greener future for the UK public.”