A 4,800-Kilometer Link Powered by 15 GW of Moroccan Renewables
The plan calls for two parallel high-voltage direct current (HVDC) subsea cables rated at 525 kV, with a combined capacity of 3.6 gigawatts, running along a 4,800-kilometer route. Electricity would come from solar photovoltaic, concentrated solar power (CSP) and wind installations located in Morocco, with generation capacity estimated at 15.2 gigawatts according to the project’s technical fact sheet. A battery energy storage system (BESS) with a capacity of between 9.6 and 20 gigawatt-hours is planned to smooth output, echoing other battery storage projects across Europe, such as the one where Ignitis Renewables develops a 107 MW battery storage system in Latvia, or auction mechanisms comparable to those where Brazil launches two 15-year battery storage capacity auctions. The delivered energy volume is estimated at approximately 26 terawatt-hours per year, close to 5% of Germany’s annual electricity consumption.
Sila Atlantik extends and redirects the original project of British company Xlinks, which had planned to connect Morocco’s Guelmim-Oued Noun region to Devon, in the United Kingdom, via a 3,800-kilometer, 3.6-gigawatt HVDC cable. That UK project stalled over uncertainty surrounding a Contract for Difference (CfD, a mechanism guaranteeing an electricity purchase price) at a level sufficient to cover the cost of capital, as well as delays in securing grid connection slots from system operator National Grid ESO. These obstacles led developers to redirect the project toward Germany.
An Intergovernmental Agreement Still Pending Between Rabat and Berlin
Germany faces a shortfall of decarbonized baseload electricity following the final shutdown of its nuclear plants in 2023 and the planned coal phase-out (Kohleausstieg), scheduled between 2030 and 2038. The project is now included, on an exploratory basis, in the Ten-Year Network Development Plan (TYNDP) of the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E). It is led by a consortium headed by Xlinks Germany GmbH, whose executives come from energy groups EnBW and Ørsted. The cables are expected to connect to the German grid at two points: in the north, at Emden, in Lower Saxony, via grid operator TenneT, and in the south, via the Amprion network.
Moroccan authorities are nonetheless demanding a formal intergovernmental agreement from Berlin to secure long-term state support, according to the sources cited by Reuters. Developers are targeting a first electricity injection around 2034, with a ramp-up to full capacity by 2040. The overall cost of the infrastructure is estimated at between €30 billion and €40 billion ($30 billion-$40 billion) according to the project’s technical fact sheet, compared with the $30 billion figure mentioned in the initial information relayed by Reuters. Questions over financing structure and state guarantees remain unresolved at this stage.