Public Notice: Morocco-UK Power Project
14th January 2025
NOTICE OF ACCEPTANCE OF AN APPLICATION FOR A DEVELOPMENT CONSENT ORDER FOR XLINKS’ MOROCCO-UK POWER PROJECT | APPLICATION REFERENCE: EN010164
Notice under Section 56 Planning Act 2008, Regulation 9 of the Infrastructure Planning (Applications: Prescribed Forms and Procedure) Regulations 2009 and Regulation 16 of the Infrastructure Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2017
Notice is hereby given that an application for a Development Consent Order (‘DCO’) under section 37 of the Planning Act 2008 has been made by Xlinks 1 Limited (13481017) (‘the Applicant’) of registered office Kingfisher House, Woodbrook Crescent, Billericay, Essex, United Kingdom, CM12 0EQ to the Planning Inspectorate (on behalf of the Secretary of State) (‘the Application’).
The Application was made on 21 November 2024 and accepted for examination by the Planning Inspectorate (on behalf of the Secretary of State) on 19 December 2024 (Application Reference: EN010164). The Application is for the proposed Xlinks’ Morocco-UK Power Project (the ‘Project’).
Summary of the Project
The Project site is located along an approximately 370km offshore corridor within UK waters, a 14.5km onshore cable corridor between Cornborough Range and fields to the northwest of Alverdiscott National Substation in Devon. A map showing the location of the Project can be viewed online on the Xlinks Morocco-UK Power Project page of the Planning Inspectorate’s National Infrastructure Planning website at: https://infrastructure.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/wp-content/ipc/uploads/projects/EN010164/EN010164-000130-2.1%20Location%20Order%20Limits%20and%20Grid%20Coordinates%20Plan.pdf
All onshore elements of the Proposed Development are located within the administrative area of Torridge District Council in the County of Devon. The offshore elements of the Proposed Development extend from Cornborough Range, also in Torridge, to the seaward limit of the UK’s Exclusive Economic Zone (“EEZ”).
The Proposed Development is split into three distinctive elements, as follows:
Onshore elements
- Two independent 1.8GW converter stations plus external equipment, landscaping and other ancillary buildings (the “Converter Site”) to convert electricity from Direct Current (“DC”) into Alternating Current (“AC”) before transmission to the national grid, located west of the existing National Grid Alverdiscott 400 kilovolt (“kV”) substation.
- 12 High Voltage Alternating Current (“HVAC”) cables connecting the Converter Site into the National Grid Alverdiscott 400kV substation, each approximately 1.2km in length
- Four High Voltage Direct Current (“HVDC”) cables to link the onshore converter stations to a landfall site at Cornborough Range, buried in bundled pairs with six fibre optic cables in a corridor approximately 14.5km long and approximately 32m wide.
Landfall site
- A landfall point at Cornborough Range on the Devon coast, 4km west of Bideford, hosting two Transition Joint Bays to transition from offshore HVDC cables to onshore HVDC cables.
Offshore elements
- Four HVDC cables which would bring electricity from the Project’s generation assets in Morocco to the UK landfall point. The UK cables would be located within the UK EEZ in a corridor approximately 370km in length and 500m wide (extending up to 1.5km wide at some crossing locations). These would be in bundled pairs with two fibre optic cables (one per pair).
The Proposed Development will include other required works, such as temporary access roads, highway works, temporary works compounds, work sites, ancillary works, temporary and permanent utility connections, permanent utility diversions, and any other works identified as necessary to enable the Proposed Development.
The Application is required because the Project has received a direction from the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (‘the Secretary of State’) as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project under Section 35 of the Planning Act 2008 (as amended). As such, the decision whether to grant development consent will be made by the Secretary of State.
The DCO, if granted, would authorise the compulsory acquisition of land, interests in land and rights over land, and the powers to use land permanently and temporarily. The DCO would also authorise alterations to the layout of streets, the construction of accesses to the Project, the permanent and temporary stopping up of the public rights of way, street works, removal of hedgerows, and the application, disapplication and modification of legislation.
Environmental Impact Assessment
The Project is an Environmental Impact Assessment (‘EIA’) development, as defined by the Infrastructure Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2017 and, accordingly, an Environmental Statement accompanies the Application.
Application form and accompanying documents
The Application form and its accompanying documents, drawings, plans and maps, including the Environmental Statement and draft Development Consent Order, are available to view electronically and download, free of charge, under the “Documents” tab on the Xlinks’ Morocco- UK Power Project page of the Planning Inspectorate’s National Infrastructure Planning website, being a website maintained by or on behalf of the Secretary of State:
https://national-infrastructure-consenting.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/projects/EN010164/documents
The Application documents will be available to view online at least until the end of the Relevant Representation period at 23:59:59 on 13 March 2025.
The Application documents are available for electronic inspection via computer free of charge at the following venues and times set out below. These documents will be available to view at least until the end of the Relevant Representation period at 23:59:59 on 13 March 2025.
If you require an electronic copy of the Application documents to be supplied on a USB stick, this can be provided free of charge (one device per household or business). Please use the contact details for the Applicant in this notice to request a USB stick. You can also contact the Applicant using these contact details if you have any enquiries in relation to the Application form and its accompanying documents, plans and maps.
The Application documents can be made available in hard copy format subject to a fee of:
- Consultation Report, Planning Statement and Statement of Need: £750;
- Environmental Statement Report Volumes 1-4: £1,500; and
- Total cost for all documents (including files, covers and spines): £5,000.
The Applicant will consider any reasonable requests for bespoke or hard copy documents and will accommodate such requests where it is feasible to do so. In relation to any request, please contact the Applicant using the contact details in this notice.
Making a representation
Any person may make representations on the Application to the Secretary of State (including giving notice of any interest in, comment on, objection to or support for the Application). All representations relating to the Application must be made on the Planning Inspectorate’s Registration and Relevant Representation Form and give the grounds on which it is made.
The Registration and Relevant Representation Form will be made available by the Planning Inspectorate. The form can be found on the Xlinks’ Morocco-UK Power Project page for the Application via the Planning Inspectorate’s National Infrastructure Planning website:
https://national-infrastructure-consenting.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/projects/EN010164
The Planning Inspectorate has issued detailed advice on making and registering a relevant representation and becoming an Interested Party, which you should have regard for. This Advice Note (NSIPs: How to register to have your say and make a relevant representation) is published on the Government’s website under the heading ‘Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects: Advice notes’ and can be found at:
If you require guidance on obtaining or completing the Registration and Relevant Representation Form or you are unable to complete the form online and you would like to register your interest and/or request a hard copy, please telephone the Planning Inspectorate on 0303 444 5000 quoting the name of the Application and the Planning Inspectorate’s reference number EN010164.
Any Registration and Relevant Representation Form must be received by the Planning Inspectorate no later than 23:59:59 on 13 March 2025
All representations must include details of the maker’s name, address and telephone number, along with an outline of the points intended to be made at the examination stage. Please ensure that you quote reference number EN010164 in all correspondence with the Planning Inspectorate about the Application.
Please note that any submitted representations to the Planning Inspectorate will be published on the Planning Inspectorate’s National Infrastructure Planning website for the Application and will be subject to their privacy policy which can be viewed at:
A completed hard copy form to be submitted to the Planning Inspectorate should be sent to:
The Planning Inspectorate Temple Quay House
2 The Square
Bristol
BS1 6PN
Applicant’s contact details
For further information about the Application, or to request copies of documents, the Applicant can be contacted by using the following details:
Telephone: 0800 038 3486 (Free of charge) Email: hello@xlinks.co
Post: Xlinks’ Morocco-UK Power Project, FREEPOST SEC NEWGATE LOCAL
Any details you provide to the Applicant via telephone or e-mail will be subject to its privacy policy linked here: https://xlinks.co/privacy-policy/ and will be treated confidentially and processed and handled in accordance with the relevant data protection legislation.
