Africa Finance Corporation invests in Morocco's renewable energy transfer to the UK

The project to serve solar and wind energy from the Moroccan kingdom to the UK market is based on the transfer of energy through a submarine cable system 
Una vista aérea de los espejos solares de la planta de energía solar concentrada Noor 1, próxima a la ciudad de Ouarzazate - AFP/FADEL SENNA
An aerial view of the solar mirrors at the Noor 1 concentrated solar power plant near the city of Ouarzazate - AFP/FADEL SENNA

Through a submarine cable system that will connect the territory of Morocco with the United Kingdom, the North African country aims to offer solar and wind energy to the British territory, supplying energy to more than seven million people.  

The Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) has decided to invest in this initiative. AFC is a pan-African development finance institution founded in 2007 by African countries to provide solutions to Africa's infrastructure deficit and has welcomed the project to connect Morocco and the UK. 

Xlinks First Ltd, the UK power transmission company behind the project, has announced a 14.1 million dollar investment from Africa Finance Corporation, the continent's leading provider of infrastructure solutions, to drive the development of Xlinks' Morocco-UK power project, which will deliver clean, reliable and affordable energy from Morocco to Britain within a decade. 

Cable submarino transatlántico - PHOTO/FILE
Transatlantic submarine cable - PHOTO/FILE

AFC's support marks an important milestone for the project, affirming Morocco's role as a continental leader in renewable energy and demonstrating how Africa's huge renewable energy potential can provide solutions that benefit the global energy transition.  

Once completed, the project's wind and solar generation, combined with flexible battery storage, will provide 3.6 GW of clean, reliable and affordable power to meet 8% of Britain's current electricity needs, or the equivalent of 7 million homes. The new power generation and battery storage facility, located in southern Morocco, will be connected exclusively to Britain via 4,000 km of HVDC submarine cables.

The project includes producing 10.5 gigawatts of solar and wind power in Morocco, installing batteries to store about half of that capacity, and transporting it to the UK via 3,800 kilometres of undersea cables, as officially reported by Africa Finance Corporation.  

The total cost of the project is estimated at more than 20 billion dollars, representing one of the largest investments ever made in Africa in the field of renewable energy.

Una imagen de archivo tomada el 8 de junio de 2010 muestra turbinas eólicas en el parque eólico recientemente inaugurado de Dahr Saadane en Tánger - AFP/ABDELHAK SENNA
A file image taken on 8 June 2010 shows wind turbines at the recently inaugurated Dahr Saadane wind farm in Tangier - AFP/ABDELHAK SENNA

Samaila Zubairu, senior manager of Africa Finance Corporation, said: "Africa is no longer a charity or a place to receive aid. If we want to achieve zero emissions, we must focus on investment. 

He added that the African continent "has the capacity to generate 110 gigawatts of wind power and also has huge untapped solar power capacity". "In addition to this, there are 250 gigawatts of hydroelectric potential," explained Samaila Zubairu, as reported by Rue 20. 

The project to export electricity from Morocco to the UK, led by the British company Xlinks, includes other world-renowned international companies, including TotalEnergies (France), General Electric (United States) and Taqa (United Arab Emirates). 

Morocco is becoming a major renewable energy benchmark in Africa and the world, thanks to its investment in the solar, wind and green hydrogen energy industry. The Moroccan kingdom's challenge is to reach 52% renewable energy in its energy mix by 2030.  

A great example of the major role that the North African country is playing in this area is precisely this future supply of renewable energy to the British archipelago.