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Doha – “Morocco can play a key role in the UK’s clean energy mission,” former UK Defence Minister Nick Harvey asserted, as he reflected on the North African country’s crucial position in Britain’s renewable energy future.
In an article published on Thursday in PoliticsHome, the former Liberal Democrat MP for North Devon (1992-2015) outlined how sourcing energy from a country with guaranteed sunshine and wind would support the British government’s efforts to reduce energy bills, particularly as British families face rising energy costs.
Harvey pointed out that the average British family’s dual fuel bill will reach £1,849 per year starting April, following Ofgem’s latest price cap announcement, Britain’s energy regulator that sets the maximum rate that suppliers can charge consumers.
“Without government action, many frightened families would have been simply unable to afford their monthly bills,” he declared, referring to the impact of Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine on wholesale gas costs.
The former minister expounded on the significance of the Morocco-UK Power Project, which is currently being examined by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.
He remarked that by building on a 300-year-old trading relationship with Morocco, the project, led by Xlinks and chaired by former Tesco boss Sir Dave Lewis, would supply enough wind and solar energy to power seven million British homes – representing eight percent of Britain’s electricity needs.
“The Morocco-UK Power Project could provide an average of 3.6GW for more than 19 hours a day, backed up by battery storage,” Harvey explained.
He detailed how the electricity would be transmitted to British soil via four armored HVDC cables extending 2,485 miles (4,000km), buried at least a meter under the seabed, making landfall on Devon’s north coast.
“The scheme uses technology the world has been utilizing for 214 years, when the first submarine cable to carry electricity was laid across the Isar River in Bavaria,” he pointed out.
The former minister added that these cables would travel through the territorial waters and exclusive economic zones of NATO allies, providing an extra layer of security.
Speaking from his experience as a former defense minister in the 2010-2015 coalition government, Harvey emphasized the importance of increasing Britain’s ability to withstand geopolitical turmoil.
“Increasing the amount of power generated by renewables will make us less dependent on – and less at the mercy of – foreign dictators,” he argued.
The former armed forces minister noted that Morocco’s renewable resources could help address the challenge of “Dunkelflaute” – a German term describing gloomy, still days when neither sun shines nor wind blows.
“Britain’s existing renewable power systems are inherently vulnerable to the vagaries of British weather – as the most recent winter demonstrated. In contrast, Morocco’s green, desert power can tackle the intermittency of the UK’s weather-dependent turbines and solar panels,” he stated.
Harvey observed that the project would generate more than £20 billion in socio-economic benefits for the United Kingdom.
He mentioned that XLCC, the project’s strategic partner, is establishing the world’s largest HVDC facility in Scotland to support Xlinks and similar initiatives, creating hundreds of jobs and enhancing workforce skills.
Considering the growing energy demands, particularly driven by power-intensive AI technology, Harvey concluded that “we will need all the tools and innovation at our disposal to meet that demand.”
