Miliband ditches £25bn Morocco to Britain undersea power line project to focus on domestic renewables

By RICHARD MARSDEN

Updated: 22:01 BST, 26 June 2025

Ed Miliband has withdrawn support for a 2,500-mile undersea power line which would have linked Britain with Moroccan wind and solar farms.

Former Tesco boss Dave Lewis, chairman of the £25billion XLinks project, said its backers have been left ‘hugely surprised and bitterly disappointed’ by the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero’s decision. 

They claim the project would meet up to 8 per cent of the UK’s power needs and reduce prices by 9 per cent.

The Government yesterday said it believed domestic renewable projects could offer ‘better economic benefits’ – and that the power cable plan had too much ‘inherent risk related to both delivery and security’.

Pulling the plug: Energy secretary Ed Miliband (pictured) has withdrawn support for a 2,500-mile undersea power line which would have linked Britain with Morocco

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Miliband ditches £25bn Morocco to Britain undersea power line project to focus on domestic renewables

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