The world’s longest subsea power link will soon start to deliver solar electricity from Morocco to the UK. HIGHVOLT was commissioned to build the testing technology required to ensure that the electricity flows reliably through these huge cables.
The world’s longest subsea power link will soon start to deliver solar electricity from Morocco to the UK. HIGHVOLT was commissioned to build the testing technology required to ensure that the electricity flows reliably through these huge cables.
In just a few years’ time, solar power generated in Morocco is set to help guide the UK to climate neutrality. And this is what Project XLinks has been set up for: In the region of Guelmim-Oued Noun, solar and wind energy generating plants will be built over an area of 1,500 square kilometers to deliver a combined output of 10.5 GW. Power will be delivered to the British Isles via four subsea cables covering a distance of 3,800 km along the coastline of the European continent.
XLCC has also been set up especially for this major project in Hunterston in Scotland. The company manufactures the high‑voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission cables with aluminum conductor and insulation made of cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) and will also be responsible for installation. In the future, the Scottish specialists will manufacture cables with individual lengths of 20 km. These will then be connected with joints to form 160 km sections before they are loaded onto an installation ship. The quality requirements placed on these cables are incredibly demanding. Once they have been installed on the seabed, subsequent repairs are virtually impossible.
is the amount of electricity generated by the wind and solar farms in Morocco.
is the amount of land covered by the solar and wind energy generating plants in the Guelmim-Oued Noun region.
is the route covered by the subsea cables.
is the maximum length of the individual cable sections that can be tested.
is the number of UK households that will be supplied with electricity in this way.
more power at just twice the size.
XLCC has given HIGHVOLT the job of building a test system for checking the cables for faults in the insulation or the joints. Anne Cholawa, Project Manager at HIGHVOLT and responsible for what is the company’s biggest assignment to date, explains: “The longer a cable system is, the more power the test system needs.”
More about this project can be found in the current edition of ONLOAD.
