Written By: Faith Jemosop
The United Kingdom has reportedly decided to walk away from the $33 billion Xlinks First Power Cable project, a visionary plan that would have linked solar and wind energy from Morocco directly to British homes through a 4,000 km subsea cable. Though not yet officially confirmed, multiple credible reports suggest the UK government has rejected the project’s key financial framework, effectively putting its future in jeopardy.
Ambitious Project Halted by Economic Caution
At the heart of this decision is the British government’s refusal to agree to a long-term Contract for Difference (CfD) agreementa, an arrangement that would have secured a fixed electricity price over several decades. The consortium behind the Xlinks project, which includes energy giants like France’s TotalEnergies, UAE’s Taqa, and UK’s Octopus Energy, had requested this pricing guarantee to make the investment financially viable. Without it, the economic risks appear too great for a project that is largely unprecedented in scope and scale.
The project’s most daunting challenge is its undersea component: a 3,800 km subsea cable running beneath the Atlantic Ocean, nearly five times longer than the world’s current longest functioning undersea power cable linking the UK and Denmark. This vast engineering requirement would have required $6.5 billion in UK-side investments alone.
Clean Energy From Africa to Europe
The Xlinks cable was more than a technical marvel, it represented a bold vision of Africa powering Europe with clean energy. The proposal was to construct a dedicated renewable energy farm in Morocco with a capacity of 11.5 gigawatts (GW), comprising both solar and wind installations. This would have provided enough electricity to power more than 7 million UK homes, meeting nearly 8% of Britain’s electricity needs.
Morocco, with its expansive deserts, high solar irradiance, and favorable wind conditions, has emerged as a continental leader in renewable energy development. The country already hosts one of the world’s largest concentrated solar power plants in Ouarzazate and has been actively attracting global investors in its push to become a green energy hub.
The Xlinks project was envisioned as a direct, uninterrupted green energy supply line, bypassing Europe’s congested grids and avoiding intermittency challenges by leveraging Morocco’s hybrid solar-wind setup to ensure a 20+ hour supply profile per day.
Political Support Meets Economic Resistance
The rejection is especially surprising given the UK’s ongoing commitment to decarbonization and energy transition. The Labour Party, which has historically championed renewable energy initiatives, now appears reluctant to shoulder the high financial risks associated with this particular project. Despite its environmental appeal and energy security potential, the project’s unprecedented nature and high upfront capital seem to have tipped the scales toward caution.
UK officials reportedly cited concerns over long-term financial exposure, grid integration risks, and geopolitical dependencies, particularly in a time of increased global energy volatility.
What’s at Stake for Africa?
The project’s collapse, at least in its UK-centered form, has profound implications not only for Europe but also for Africa’s renewable energy sector. Morocco had invested heavily in developing the infrastructure and regulatory frameworks to support Xlinks, and the project was seen as a template for future Africa-Europe energy partnerships.
It also raises critical questions about the willingness of wealthy nations to invest in Africa’s role as a global clean energy supplier. If projects like Xlinks cannot secure stable offtake agreements and government guarantees even in climate-committed nations like the UK, what hope is there for similar initiatives aimed at linking the African energy surplus with European demand?
Also read: Can Africa’s G20 Nations Power the Planet? A Bold Renewable Energy Future in Sight
What Happens to the Investors?
Major stakeholders now find themselves at a crossroads. TotalEnergies, Taqa, and Octopus Energy had all committed significant capital and strategic interest to the Xlinks vision. With the UK effectively out, these firms must now explore alternative energy purchasers or reconfigure the project altogether.
The most likely alternative market could be Germany, Europe’s largest energy consumer and a country increasingly desperate to diversify away from Russian fossil fuels. Germany has already shown interest in green hydrogen imports from Africa and has the technical and financial capacity to support such a megaproject, although integrating such a supply route would require re-engineering both the cable route and the political negotiations.
A Pattern of Missed Opportunities?
This development fits into a broader pattern where high-ambition, cross-border clean energy projects flounder due to political and economic reluctance. While intercontinental infrastructure is touted as a solution to the global energy crisis, actual implementation remains elusive. The Xlinks cable was often compared to the Desertec initiative, a similarly ambitious plan from the early 2010s that aimed to power Europe with North African solar energy, only to collapse under political and financial pressure.
These repeated failures underscore the need for more robust international collaboration frameworks and risk-sharing mechanisms that can bridge the gap between climate ambition and real-world execution.
Also read: Global Energy Progress 2025 Signals Slow March Toward SDG 7A
What Now for the UK?
For the UK, the rejection of Xlinks narrows its options for reaching ambitious carbon neutrality goals by 2050. While the country has made progress with offshore wind and domestic solar, its energy grid remains vulnerable to supply fluctuations and increasingly exposed to geopolitical disruptions. A diversified, secure, and green energy pipeline from North Africa could have offered long-term strategic advantages.
Instead, the UK may now need to double down on domestic renewables or seek alternative energy partnerships with closer neighbours, such as Norway or continental Europe.
