The UK could be set to import energy from the US via a transatlantic interconnector being explored by a group of investors, as reported in The Telegraph.
Under the plans, the investors, based in London and working alongside energy consultants, will look to install up to six subsea power cables that cover roughly 3,500 miles of the Atlantic Ocean.
In doing so, the group hope to create what it has called a “global intercontinental grid”.
The subsea cable could bolster the deployment of solar panels on both the UK and US grids, with the time difference meaning that the “sun would never set” on the nations’ solar farms. Ultimately, the idea is that should enough solar capacity be developed in the US, the UK could be powered by solar during the night.
Speaking to The Telegraph, project-backer Sam Ludlam said: “When the sun is high in London, it’d be breakfast time in New York where people could use UK or European power to cook breakfast. Then five hours later, the sun will be high in America, so solar and other power stations there will provide the power for cooking supper in the UK.”
It is worth noting that these plans are still very much in their infancy.
UK-Morocco interconnector continues development
This interconnector becomes the latest being explored in the UK. Perhaps the most relevant to the UK-US development is the 3.6GW UK-Morocco interconnector being pursued by Xlinks.
The project aims to connect a solar and wind farm co-located with a 5GW/22.5GWh onsite battery storage facility in Morocco’s Guelmim Oued Noun region to Alverdiscott near the north coast of Devon, England, via four 3,800km High-Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) subsea cables.
In late October 2023, the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero deemed the project a nationally significant infrastructure project (NSIP) due to the role it could play in the decarbonisation of the GB grid.
The subsea megaproject is expected to cost £18 billion, and it has previously received funding from TAQA, one of the largest listed integrated utility companies in the Middle East and North Africa region, and Octopus Energy.
In 2021, Current± caught up with Xlinks’ CEO Simon Morrish to discuss how the project is an “overwhelmingly compelling solution” to the UK’s need for baseload power.
