The £18 billion ($22.04 billion) Xlinks Morocco-UK power project, slated to begin power generation by 2027, has been delayed by one year, the London-based The Daily Express newspaper reported.

Xlinks’ Executive Chairman Dave Lewis blamed the delay on the political turmoil in the UK, which has seen three different prime ministers in under six months.

He cautioned that prices would remain high for years, highlighting the need for nations to quickly ramp up their clean power sources to avoid volatile fossil fuel markets.

The Morocco-UK power project will be entirely powered by solar and wind energy combined with a battery storage facility, according to Xlinks website.

The project, located in Guelmim Oued Noun region, would be connected exclusively to the UK via 3,800-kilometre HVDC sub-sea cables.

It will generate 10.5 gigawatts (GW) of zero-carbon electricity from the sun and wind to deliver 3.6GW of energy for an average of over 20 hours a day.

Read: Supergrids in MENA: Taking renewable energy to the world

(Writing by P Deol; Editing by Anoop Menon)

(anoop.menon@lseg.com)