The United Kingdom has withdrawn its support for a major renewable energy project that aimed to supply power from Morocco to Britain through underwater cables, citing concerns over security and delivery risks.
The UK’s Energy Security Department said on Thursday it would no longer back the $33 billion Morocco-UK Power Project, led by British company Xlinks, due to the "high level of inherent risk" associated with the initiative.
“There are stronger alternative options that we should focus our attention on,” said British Energy Minister Michael Schanks. He added the decision was made to protect taxpayers and consumers from potential cost and delivery failures.
The project, announced in 2021, aimed to deliver wind and solar power from Morocco to the UK via nearly 4,000 kilometres of subsea cables — enough to supply 8% of Britain’s current electricity needs, or roughly 7 million homes. If completed, it would become the world’s largest interconnector of its kind.
Despite the UK’s withdrawal, Xlinks said it intends to continue. “We are hugely surprised and bitterly disappointed,” said Xlinks Chair Dave Lewis. “We believe this project would deliver cheaper, faster electricity than other options — including nuclear.”
Xlinks had already secured financial backing from investors including France’s TotalEnergies and the Africa Finance Corporation. The company was also pursuing a fixed-price agreement for electricity generation.
The move highlights growing caution in Britain around large-scale overseas infrastructure projects, even as European countries increasingly look to North Africa as a source of affordable, clean energy. Similar transmission projects are under development to link solar and wind farms in Tunisia and Egypt with Italy and Greece.
Moroccan authorities have not commented publicly on the UK’s decision.
A senior Russian military intelligence officer has been rushed to hospital after being shot several times in Moscow, in the latest apparent assassinat...
European Union Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos arrived in Türkiye on Friday for high-level talks centred on the modernisation of the EU-Türkiye C...
Mexico is assessing whether it can resume fuel deliveries to Cuba without triggering U.S. tariffs, as both sides hold frequent talks and Havana warns ...
Iran and the United States opened nuclear talks in Oman on Friday, with Tehran calling the meeting a good start and both sides agreeing to continue di...
After months of heightened tension following their war in June 2025 and weeks of escalating mutual threats, Iran and the United States resumed fragile...
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has deployed one of its largest ballistic missiles at a newly unveiled underground base on Wednesday (3 February), just two days ahead of mediated nuclear talks with the United States in Muscat, Oman.
An attacker opened fire at the gates of a Shi'ite Muslim mosque in Islamabad on Friday before detonating a suicide bomb that killed at least 31 people in the deadliest assault of its kind in the capital in more than ten years.
If Fars News Agency is to be believed, Iran's neighbours should be on alert. The agency, which reportedly mirrors the views of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), warned Azerbaijan and Türkiye that if the U.S. and Israel attack Iran, they will become "legitimate targets for Tehran."
Winter weather has brought air travel in the German capital to a complete halt, stranding thousands of passengers as severe icing conditions make runways and aircraft unsafe for operation and force authorities to shut down one of Europe’s key transport hubs.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has deployed one of its largest ballistic missiles at a newly unveiled underground base on Wednesday (3 February), just two days ahead of mediated nuclear talks with the United States in Muscat, Oman.
Morocco has evacuated more than 100,000 people from four provinces after heavy rainfall triggered flash floods across several northern regions, the Interior Ministry said on Wednesday.
Rivers and reservoirs across Spain and Portugal were on the verge of overflowing on Wednesday as a new weather front pounded the Iberian peninsula, compounding damage from last week's Storm Kristin.
Winter weather has brought air travel in the German capital to a complete halt, stranding thousands of passengers as severe icing conditions make runways and aircraft unsafe for operation and force authorities to shut down one of Europe’s key transport hubs.
Israeli tank shelling and airstrikes killed 24 Palestinians including seven children in Gaza on Wednesday (4 February), health officials said, the latest violence to undermine the nearly four-month-old ceasefire.
European Union Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos arrived in Türkiye on Friday for high-level talks centred on the modernisation of the EU-Türkiye Customs Union, which both sides have described as vital to the future of bilateral relations.
Mexico is assessing whether it can resume fuel deliveries to Cuba without triggering U.S. tariffs, as both sides hold frequent talks and Havana warns of worsening shortages.
After months of heightened tension following their war in June 2025 and weeks of escalating mutual threats, Iran and the United States resumed fragile nuclear diplomacy on Friday, as negotiators from both sides held critical mediated talks in Muscat, Oman.
The United States has accused Beijing of conducting a covert nuclear test in 2020, adding fresh strain to already fraught relations as Washington presses for a broader arms control treaty to include China as well as Russia.
A senior Russian military intelligence officer has been rushed to hospital after being shot several times in Moscow, in the latest apparent assassination attempt targeting the country’s top brass since the start of the war in Ukraine.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment