Xlinks has withdrawn its application to construct a major subsea cable connecting the UK to a 3.6 GW solar farm in Morocco.
The UK government recently rejected the Xlinks Morocco-UK Power Project’s bid for a contract for difference (CfD) application.
Now, in a letter to the Planning Inspectorate, Xlinks has withdrawn its application for a development consent order.
“This update means that Xlinks is now progressing at pace plans for an alternative approach to deliver the project,” Xlinks said in the letter.
“This, in turn, may mean that changes are needed to our application, which would in turn need further consultation, design review and reassessment of the project’s impacts.”
It added that the company would incorporate feedback from the application process into an alternative delivery approach for the project as it defines its next steps.
“We would want all our stakeholders to have ample opportunity to consider these, which the current application timeline does not allow for.”
© Supplied by XlinksUnder its original plan, Xlinks envisioned building a 2,300-mile subsea cable to enavle the UK to import up to 11.5 GW of solar and wind power from Morocco.
Following the rejection of its CfD bid, Xlinks chairman Sir Dave Lewis said the company was “bitterly disappointed” by the rejection, and that the project would “lower the wholesale price of electricity” for the UK by 9% in its first year of operation.
The company is now exploring ways to deliver the Morocco-UK Power Project without a CfD.
Xlinks has explored the potential of creating similar projects based in other countries, conducting early feasibility work in European markets.
TotalEnergies, Octopus Energy, Abu Dhabi’s TAQA, GE Vernova and the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) all previously provided financial backing to the venture.
