Xlinks reported that a Final Investment Decision (FID) for the Morocco–UK Power Project was expected in 2025 and that financial close was anticipated in 2026. The company described the programme as a multi‑billion-pound subsea HVDC interconnector (3.6 GW cable capacity within an 11.5 GW generation and storage complex) linking Morocco’s Guelmim Oued Noun region to the UK; Xlinks said construction would start before the end of the year. The statement was reported via industry coverage citing Xlinks’ chairman and the project’s advisers (J.P. Morgan and Société Générale).
In public project materials Xlinks set an indicative schedule that anticipated the start of construction in 2025. This timeline referred to the commencement of onshore and offshore construction activities (including trenching and ducting for onshore HVDC cables and preparatory works for converter station sites) subject to planning consents, permits and financing.
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The Xlinks Morocco–UK project is a proposed 3.6 GW HVDC transmission link designed to import utility-scale solar and wind power from south‑west Morocco into Great Britain. It was conceived as an integrated generation, firming and transmission scheme: large‑scale solar and wind generation in Moroc...
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EN010164, Morocco-UK power project
OceanIQ completed and published a Desktop Study and Landing Point Assessment for the Xlinks Morocco–UK Power Project. The work delivered a recommended shallow-water cable route (maximum depth ~700 m), identified and mapped high fishing-risk areas, anchorages, shipping corridors and other seabed users, and recommended avoidance of major canyons (e.g., Lisbon Canyon, Capbreton Canyon). The study documented bathymetry, seabed lithology, currents, weather, seismology, tides, permits and environmental/cultural constraints, and reported site visits to two National Grid‑approved substations and adjacent near‑shore areas in the UK to inform landing options. The study also set out survey and permitting requirements ahead of marine survey and installation campaigns.
On 3 July 2025 the Planning Inspectorate’s project page recorded that the Xlinks Morocco–UK DCO application had been withdrawn by the applicant. The notice indicated the application had been withdrawn and referenced an applicant’s letter; the project page was updated to reflect the withdrawal and that the application materials would remain viewable until archive.
Xlinks Morocco-UK Power Project placed on hold following the withdrawal of its planning consent application on 3 July 2025 and the earlier decline of its CfD revenue application on 26 June 2025. The 3.6 GW HVDC generation export link from Morocco to the UK, which had reached FID, faces fundamental obstacles with no clear route to resumption: the UK planning pathway is closed and the revenue support mechanism has been rejected. The developer has not formally cancelled the project.
The UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) announced it would no longer consider a Contract for Difference (CfD) for the Xlinks Morocco–UK Power Project. The government concluded the proposal was not aligned with its priority to focus on homegrown generation; Xlinks publicly criticised the decision and said it would pursue alternative routes to progress the project.
On 3 June 2025 Xlinks announced a temporary suspension of UK administrative procedures related to the Morocco–UK subsea cable project, citing the absence of a UK tariff/CfD agreement. The company said the suspension specifically affected UK processes including progress on its Development Consent Order (DCO) submissions while it awaited a clear response from UK authorities on the proposed pricing arrangements.
ENTSO‑E's Regional Investment Plan (RegIP) supporting TYNDP 2024 included an entry for an Xlinks developer project listed as "Xlinks Morocco‑Germany" (ID 1215) with status 'under consideration' and an indicative commissioning year. Although this entry references an Xlinks interconnector variant to Germany (not the Morocco–UK routing), it demonstrates that an Xlinks Morocco export corridor was captured in ENTSO‑E/TYNDP regional planning materials.
A transboundary public consultation on the project’s Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was opened for Ireland on 6 March 2025 (running to close of business 17 April 2025). The Irish Department of Housing, Local Government & Heritage published the consultation after receiving PINS' notification (PINS had invited Ireland to participate following acceptance of the DCO application). The consultation made project documents, extracts from the applicant’s Environmental Statement and associated materials available for public inspection, enabling submissions on potential transboundary impacts (fishing, marine mammals, turtles, navigation, etc.).
Xlinks received further private investor backing when GE Vernova invested (reported as $10.2 million) and Africa Finance Corporation invested (reported as $14.1 million), together accounting for roughly $24.3 million of new funding and giving GE Vernova a minority stake. The investments were reported by industry outlets and described by Xlinks as strengthening the project’s development capital base.
In 2024 GEOxyz reported that its survey vessel Geo Ocean V was operating in the Bay of Biscay conducting geophysical route surveys along the French coastline as part of the comprehensive corridor campaign for Xlinks. The activity supported the final corridor data acquisition effort to inform micro-routing, environmental assessment and consenting.
On 21 November 2024, Xlinks submitted an Environmental Statement, forming the Environmental Impact Assessment for the UK elements of the Xlinks Morocco-UK Power Project, to the Planning Inspectorate as part of its Development Consent Order application for the Proposed Development. The Environmental Statement and related application documents were subsequently published on the Planning Inspectorate’s National Infrastructure Planning website for examination and public access.
As of November 2024, Xlinks reported that survey vessels were undertaking geophysical and geotechnical investigations for the Morocco–UK route. These marine survey operations supported route engineering and the environmental studies required to apply for final installation permits and to inform later construction of subsea cables and onshore infrastructure, including converter and substation sites.
GEOxyz scheduled its vessel Geo Ocean III to begin geotechnical and environmental sampling for the Xlinks corridor in summer 2024 (planned sampling included vibrocores, CPTs and grab sampling). The campaign was described as the phase to acquire seabed and sub-bottom samples needed to support burial assessments, cable installation design and environmental baseline updates prior to pre-construction decisions.
GEOxyz mobilised Geo Ocean VII to commence comprehensive geophysical route surveys along the Spanish coastline for the Xlinks Morocco–UK cable corridor, with the vessel reported to start at the end of May 2024. This work formed part of a phased programme to complete a full corridor survey following reconnaissance surveys in 2022–2023, and comprised route-scale MBES, SSS, magnetometer and SBP acquisition to refine the final cable alignment and crossings.
Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) invested in Xlinks First Ltd. AFC provided $14.1 million in equity to support further development of the Xlinks Morocco–UK Power Project, becoming the project's first African investor and joining existing strategic investors including TAQA, TotalEnergies and Octopus Energy. The investment was framed as growth capital to advance project development activities for the 11.5 GW generation, battery storage and HVDC export link between Morocco and Great Britain. The transaction was announced publicly by AFC and Xlinks First as a development-stage equity commitment intended to help progress project structuring, studies and stakeholder engagement.
Xlinks 1 Limited signed two Connection Agreements with the National Grid Electricity System Operator (NGESO) on 28 March 2024 for export of 3.6 GW to the GB transmission network at Alverdiscott. Each agreement covered one Bipole (1.8 GW each), establishing contractual rights to connect the Project’s converter site to the Alverdiscott 400 kV substation; National Grid Electricity Transmission (NGET) was identified as responsible for consenting, designing and building the new substation works required to receive the Project’s HVAC cables.
Xlinks / sister company XLCC confirmed plans to order a bespoke, super-large cable-lay vessel to install the Morocco–UK subsea HVDC cables. The vessel design would allow simultaneous deployment of two cables as a bundled pair and was intended to service the Xlinks link as well as be chartered commercially. The procurement/award to build the vessel was expected later in 2024, with vessel delivery and availability targeted to support cable installation operations.
Ningbo Orient Wires & Cables (Orient Cable / NBO) entered into a share subscription agreement to acquire an equity interest in Xlinks First Ltd., representing approximately 2.4% of the company, under a placement announced by Xlinks First. The transaction was reported as gross proceeds of around £5 million to the issuer and was subject to filing or approval by relevant Chinese government authorities and foreign exchange regulators. The investment linked Orient Cable to the Morocco–UK project as an investor and connected its broader cable-industry interests (including a separate investment in UK cable manufacturer XLCC) to the project's planned HVDC subsea cable supply chain.
WSP expanded its remit for the project to include DC cable route optimisation studies, HVDC power system modelling, preparation of technical specification and interface management activities, increasing its role in preparing technical requirements for converter stations and cable systems ahead of later procurement.
GEOxyz completed an extensive marine geophysical survey for the Xlinks Morocco–UK route in 2023. Survey data acquired from the vessel Geo Ocean VI included multibeam echosounder (MBES), sidescan sonar (SSS), magnetometer and sub-bottom profiler (SBP) recordings across the offshore cable corridor and nearshore landfall approaches; these data were provided to archaeological specialists (Wessex Archaeology) and used to inform the PEIR baseline. The work formed part of a reconnaissance phase carried out across 2022–2023 to characterise seabed morphology, features and route constraints prior to detailed design and pre-construction activities.
GEOxyz completed an offshore geotechnical investigation in 2023 for the Xlinks Morocco–UK project comprising 44 cone penetration tests (CPTs) and 44 vibrocores. The geotechnical sampling supported geoarchaeological and ground-condition assessments used in the project Preliminary Environmental Information Report, providing subsurface information for cable burial assessment, palaeotopography characterisation and pre-construction design. The dataset formed the first stage of geoarchaeological review and informed decisions on whether further targeted pre-construction investigation would be required.
As part of the 2023 marine geophysical campaign for Xlinks, magnetometer, sidescan sonar and sub-bottom profiler data were acquired to identify potential unexploded ordnance (UXO) and reduce UXO risk along the proposed offshore cable corridor. These geophysical datasets were assessed as part of the project baseline (informing the PEIR) and are available to support any further, targeted UXO investigations or clearance required prior to construction. The PEIR notes that any required UXO clearance would be delivered by specialist contractors under separate consents.
Baseline marine environmental investigations for the UK offshore corridor were completed and used to prepare the PEIR (by April 2024). Completed work comprised high-resolution geophysical surveys, subtidal drop-down video surveys and subtidal grab sampling across the Offshore Cable Corridor in UK waters to establish benthic and seabed conditions that inform environmental assessment and potential pre-lay requirements.
XLCC (the Xlinks group’s cable manufacturing arm) secured detailed planning approval for an HVDC cable factory at Hunterston and stated that its first production order was four 3,800 km HVDC cables for the Xlinks Morocco–UK Power Project. The decision enabled XLCC to progress factory construction (work planned to start in early 2024) and to target cable production around 2026 to support delivery of the project’s subsea HVDC systems.
North Ayrshire Council granted full planning permission for XLCC’s HVDC subsea cable manufacturing facility at Hunterston. The permission enabled construction to commence (works planned to start early 2024) and was positioned by XLCC as a critical step to secure domestic cable manufacturing capacity to supply the Xlinks Morocco–UK Power Project.
The project completed initial model trials of cable installation equipment when UK-based submarine cable manufacturer XLCC carried out first modelling tests of its cable-laying vessel (CLV) specifically for the Xlinks Morocco–UK project. The trials validated vessel handling and cable-lay modelling for the 3,800–4,000 km HVDC cable route and formed part of early preparatory testing ahead of survey and installation phases. The tests were reported as successful and were cited by project stakeholders as an early demonstration of feasibility for subsequent subsea installation work.
Xlinks closed a development funding round that raised approximately £30 million (~$37.7 million). The round included investment from Octopus Energy and the Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA) and was intended to support ongoing development work for the subsea interconnection and associated generation and storage elements.
In April 2023 Xlinks published consultation materials stating it had secured connection agreements with National Grid for two 1.8 GW connections near Alverdiscott, North Devon. The agreements identified the preferred GB grid connection point and informed the project's Development Consent Order (DCO) and local consultation work on landfall, underground HVDC cable routing and a converter station.
WSP was engaged to provide technical services to support tendering of four HVDC converter stations and ancillary works for the Morocco–UK Project. The appointment covered development of technical specifications and support to prepare procurement packages for the converter station elements of the HVDC link.
XLCC contracted German company HIGHVOLT to supply test systems for pre-qualification and testing of subsea HVDC cables intended for the Xlinks project. The agreement covered systems to support cable qualification and quality assurance prior to deployment of the project’s long subsea HVDC circuits.
Intertek was awarded a contract to provide quality assurance and technical advisory services for the Morocco–UK interconnector project. The scope included review of marine cable routing, survey specification, procurement support and tenders, and assistance with obtaining survey permits as part of early supply-chain and routing assurance activities.
Xlinks 1 Limited progressed the grid connection application process with the UK system operator (NGESO) and, as a result, received two grid connection offers in 2020. The offers covered two Bipoles totalling 3.6 GW (two phases of 1.8 GW each) for connection at the Alverdiscott 400 kV substation in North Devon. The original 2020 offers were subsequently amended and novated in 2023 to the current Applicant, maintaining the project’s planned export capacity into the GB transmission system.
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