Morocco’s electricity for Great Britain – EQ Mag Pro
The two countries are connected to each other by submarine cables using high-voltage direct current transmission. In the future, the British will meet eight percent of their electricity needs.
Solar radiation in Morocco is even more intense than in the south of Spain. In the future, solar power is to reach Great Britain from there via an undersea cable.
In a few years, the UK will get around 8% of its electricity from Morocco. An area of 1,500 km, in the province of Guelmim Oued Noun, in the south of a North African country2 Photovoltaic systems and wind generators have been installed with a peak output of 10.5 GW. The solar system alone is 200 km. take the area of2, Due to the high levels of solar radiation there, the yield of solar energy per unit area is almost twice that of Central Europe and still 20% higher than the sunny regions of Spain.
Battery stores 20 gigawatt hours
A portion of the electricity is stored in a massive battery system. It can absorb 20 GWh and is used to address power outages caused by silence, which are rare on the west coast of North Africa, and darkness. The plan is to provide 3.5 GW of power for more than 20 hours per day. In the low consumption hours of the night, except in exceptional cases, electricity should not be supplied from Morocco.
Germany has enough space for wind and solar power plants
New nuclear power plant saves less
The output is slightly higher than that of two new nuclear power plant blocks being built at Hinkley Point, UK. They come out to a total of 3.26 GW. According to current estimates, commissioning is to begin in 2026. The construction cost of €26 billion is in line with the Morocco-UK Power Project, as the ambitious project is called.
The submarine cable is 3,800 km long
Green electricity from Morocco is carried through an underwater cable to Great Britain. For this purpose, the generated electricity is first converted into direct current with high voltage. 600,000 to 1,000,000 V are conceivable – final decision still pending. Over a distance of more than 750 km, the loss in high-voltage direct current transmission is less than in the transmission of three-phase current. With a length of 3,800 km, the cable between Morocco and Great Britain meets this requirement so far. At its destination in the county of Devon in south-west England, the electricity is converted back so that it can be fed into a high voltage grid.
More than 50% green electricity
As of 2019, the UK has generated over 50% carbon-free electricity. However, the country is grappling with two problems. The time when the country’s solar power plants produce electricity is getting smaller and smaller as winter approaches. And there is silence, which hits the British very hard. After all, wind power is the most important feeder to the grid after nuclear power. As in Germany, the storage facilities in which the excess power can be buffered are nowhere near enough. In contrast, the Moroccan sun shines more than ten hours a day, even in winter.
Neighbors benefit from German green electricity
world’s largest solar thermal power plant
Morocco has developed over the past ten years into a major international user of renewable energy. The country was a leader in large innovative projects such as the Nur Ouarzazet complex, which is home to the world’s largest solar thermal power plant with a current output of 510 MW. It was partly financed by Germany through the KfW Banking Group in Frankfurt. In addition, the country has put in place a sound legal framework to encourage investment in renewable energy.
Great Britain’s power approaches the mainland
The UK is already connected to Norway by a 1.4 GW submarine cable which is 100% hydroelectric. An equally powerful cable would in the future connect the Isle of Gren substations in the south-east of Great Britain and Federwarden in Wilhelmshaven, which could supply additional wind power to Great Britain. Britain can also exchange electricity with France, Belgium and the Netherlands.
In the coming week you will read how the densely populated city-state of Singapore will meet 20 percent of its electricity needs with wind and solar power.
Source: insidewalessport
