Octopus Energy ‘unlocks low-cost future’ with plan to power 7M homes with undersea cables

Xlinks: Dave Lewis outlines plan for undersea power cable

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Experts largely agree that the crippling energy crisis faced by millions of British families right now is mainly down to the fluctuations in the fossil fuel energy market, particularly since Russia invaded Ukraine in February. However, as the UK invests in renewable energy generation to phase out oil and gas, critics have argued sources like wind and solar energy are not consistent, and could throw the UK into a crisis “if the wind doesn’t blow or the sun doesn’t shine.”

However, Octopus Energy, a UK based firm, has hit back at those concerns by building the Xlinks project, which consists of four 3,800km long cables that will connect the UK to a huge solar farm in Morocco.

Aside from harnessing 10.5GW of renewable electricity from solar farms with an average of 20+ hours a day, Xlinks has previously noted the cable will provide clean, renewable energy at half the price of what the UK will pay for their upcoming nuclear power plant Hinkley Point C.

At £48/MWH, the expected cost of the energy from the Xlinks cable is far lower than the £92.50 the Government has agreed to pay for Hinkley Point C, which could help ease the current energy crisis, which is throwing millions of Britons into fuel poverty.

Speaking to Express.co.uk, Octopus Energy said: “The sun doesn’t always shine and the wind doesn’t always blow in the UK – but they always do somewhere in the world, providing incredibly low-cost power.

“The key to unlocking a low cost energy future and a competitive economy is to build a system that is interconnected and flexible.

“Working with other countries and layering different sources of green energy and ways of storing it (like batteries) will allow us to create a system in which we can make the most of solar and wind energy where they are abundant.”

The entire project is expected to take four years to produce, costing around £16billion, half of which is for constructing the cable.

Earlier this month, the UK granted planning permission for XLCC’s HVDC subsea cable manufacturing operations, which would produce the 3,800km long cables.

Morocco has become a major leader in solar energy, with the country benefiting from having one of the highest rates of solar insolation – or power per unit area – in the world.

According to Xlinks, Morocco benefits from ideal solar and wind resources, required to develop renewable projects that could guarantee suitable power production throughout the year.

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Octopus Energy continued: “Xlinks is the future of providing the UK with consistent green energy.

“The Saharan solar and wind farm will generate enough energy to power 7 million homes for an average of 20 hours a day.

“We need more large-scale renewables projects like this to wean us off expensive fossil fuels for good.”

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