New Project for the World’s Longest Power Line Takes the Lead from Morocco
The connection between Morocco and Britain will no longer be the longest power line in the world after a formal decision was made to develop a new project that will transport clean energy between Australia and Asia, with a massive investment cost.
According to data compared by the specialized energy platform (based in Washington), the power transmission line from Australia to Singapore is expected to be about 4,300 kilometers long, while the length of the Rabat-London project is around 3,800 kilometers.
Last Wednesday, Australia gave the green light to a solar energy project worth AUD 30 billion (USD 20 billion), aimed at transporting clean energy from the largest solar power station in the world, set to be built in northern Australia to Singapore, via a subsea line measuring 2,672 miles.
The first stage of one of the world’s most ambitious renewable energy projects received environmental approval, paving the way for a plan to export solar energy from Australia to Singapore.
Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek stated that the Sun Cable project for the electrical linkage between Australia and Asia will help meet the growing demand for renewable energy domestically and internationally.
A final investment decision is expected to be made in 2027, with electricity supplies beginning in the early 2030s, according to Sun Cable.
The Sun Cable project, which is set to be developed in two phases, aims to provide up to 6 gigawatts of green electricity to large-scale industrial customers in Darwin, the capital of Northern Territory, Australia, and in Singapore.
Before the decision to proceed with the clean electricity export project from Australia to Singapore, the X Links project was considered the longest power line in the world, aiming to transport clean energy from the deserts of Morocco to the United Kingdom.
The Morocco-UK connection project is expected to meet 8% of London’s electricity demand when fully operational, allowing the UK power grid to receive about 3.6 gigawatts.
The project, which is valued at around USD 20 billion, starts from the Guelmim-Oued Noun region in Morocco, producing up to 11.5 gigawatts of clean electricity, of which 3.6 gigawatts will supply over 7 million British homes, according to the website of the operating company, X Links.
The X Links project includes a storage battery with a capacity of 22.5 gigawatt-hours/5 gigawatts, and the subsea line is planned to stretch 3,800 kilometers from Morocco to the United Kingdom, transporting electricity generated from renewable sources.