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UK-Morocco 10GW Renewable Electricity Interconnector Planned

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Re: UK-Morocco 10GW Renewable Electricity Interconnector Planned

#21

Post by KarlKemp »

mardifoufs wrote: post #11
_fizz_buzz_ wrote: post #6

This sounds like brexiteer project. Doubt this will actually happen. 3800 km of undersea HVDC cable just to circumvent the EU. 3800 km is the distance from St.Petersburg to Marocco.

I mean it probably would've been very hard to route it through Europe too. Morocco already has powerlines with Spain, but I'm not sure if it would make sense to transport that much energy through the existing grid? Especially since very high voltage powerlines are inherently more efficient, so a direct link might make sense. I'm not familiar with how the EU grid is laid out though, and the little knowledge I have is…

It’d be stupid to run a cable straight through the EU, as well, yes. You want to be part of a large and diverse grid. Then, you add or reinforce long-distance connections based on observed patterns.

So the UK should get over itself, connect to larger grid that’s already operating on three sides. The same is probably true for Morocco, and at some point these photovoltaic-in-the-desert ideas will become economical, although I’m not entirely sure if we are there yet (the desert is less ideal for solar cells than one thinks, because heat isn’t linear proportional to irradiation).

Re: UK-Morocco 10GW Renewable Electricity Interconnector Planned

#23

Post by a_humean »

35mm wrote: post #3

Why not the south of Spain? Just as much sun and more politically stable.

It has the whiff a brexit about it. The current government is allergic to most forms of UK/EU cooperation. They don't want to give the EU extra leverage in the future, so its a means of diversification esp in the context of a lack of political will (strong NIMBY sentiment) to seriously invest in on-shore wind power in the UK. We already have 3-4 interconnects with EU countries if I recall: France, Ireland, Netherlands, ??? (a fourth?).

EDIT: Belgium and Norway is the fourth and fifth respectively, and apparently Denmark is planned.

Re: UK-Morocco 10GW Renewable Electricity Interconnector Planned

#26

Post by KarlKemp »

zikero wrote: post #20
35mm wrote: post #3

Why not the south of Spain? Just as much sun and more politically stable.

On what grounds are you claiming Morocco is less politically stable?

The grounds under our feet, i. e. reality: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy_Index#/media/File:De...

Re: UK-Morocco 10GW Renewable Electricity Interconnector Planned

#27

Post by varajelle »

giorgioz wrote: post #16
_fizz_buzz_ wrote: post #6

This sounds like brexiteer project. Doubt this will actually happen. 3800 km of undersea HVDC cable just to circumvent the EU. 3800 km is the distance from St.Petersburg to Marocco.

Yes it does, I'm not sure why they can't just put wind turbines in the UK. I'm sure there is plenty of wind there too. Also it would seem the south of France or Portugal would be much closer for the solar part.

> I'm not sure why they can't just put wind turbines in the UK.

From the article:

> When domestic renewable energy generation in the United Kingdom drops due to low winds and short periods of sun, the project will harvest the benefits of long hours of sun in Morocco

Re: UK-Morocco 10GW Renewable Electricity Interconnector Planned

#28

Post by Y-bar »

_dain_ wrote: post #19
Y-bar wrote: post #2

Why does the cables trace the Iberian and French coastlines rather than a taking a more direct route?

shallower water

I am not knowledgeable in high voltage transmission, but in which ways does the shallower water depth affect the transmission line?

Re: UK-Morocco 10GW Renewable Electricity Interconnector Planned

#29

Post by seszett »

nerdawson wrote: post #8
hetspookjee wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm guessing it has to do with the EU, but it seems far more sensical if it went straight through and allow others to give/receive as well.

That would make it dependent on the countries it hopped through and subject to their political whims. The Gibraltar issue crops up every now and then for instance so having control over an electrical connection gives the Spanish government more leverage. Same with France and the dispute over fishing waters. Only recently France were threatening to cut off power to Jersey.

> Only recently France were threatening to cut off power to Jersey.

Just want to add that it was a bit different than that. More exactly, an English newspaper asked a French official if cutting electricity off was a possibility and that official answered nothing more than "the treaty that was agreed upon does include this as a possibility".

It was never an actual threat or in any plan at the time.

Re: UK-Morocco 10GW Renewable Electricity Interconnector Planned

#30

Post by varajelle »

KarlKemp wrote: post #26
zikero wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On what grounds are you claiming Morocco is less politically stable?

The grounds under our feet, i. e. reality: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy_Index#/media/File:De...

Democracy ≠ politically stable
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