Doha – Samantha Harrison, a former adviser to the UK government, has been appointed as the new Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Xlinks Limited, a renewable energy company working on a groundbreaking project to link the UK and Morocco through a power transmission system.
At the end of September, the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (ACOBA) reviewed Harrison’s appointment and found minimal risk of conflict with her previous government roles.
Harrison previously served as an Expert Adviser at the Department of Health and Social Care and as Interim Permanent Secretary and Chief Operating Officer at 10 Downing Street.
The committee noted that she did not have prior dealings with Xlinks or the energy sector during her time in government.
As COO, Harrison will be responsible for strategic HR, security, culture, technology, digital data, and government & stakeholder relations at Xlinks.
She has confirmed that she will not have any direct contact with the government in this role, and any such contact will be handled by another employee to avoid potential conflicts of interests.
Xlinks is leading the ambitious Morocco-UK Power Project, which aims to deliver renewable energy from Morocco to the UK using a 4,000-kilometer submarine cable.
The project will generate electricity from solar and wind sources in Morocco, supplemented by a large battery storage facility.
Once completed, it is expected to supply 8% of Great Britain’s electricity needs, powering up to seven million homes.
The company has applied to the UK’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero for designation as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project and for a contract for difference to support the project.
If approved, the contract could be valued in the billions, potentially making it the largest electricity generation asset in the UK power supply.
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