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by mardifoufs 1520 days ago
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 pretty specific the Québec Grid.
2 comments
Symbiote 1520 days ago
The European grids, and some neighbouring countries, are shown here: https://www.entsoe.eu/data/map/
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KarlKemp 1520 days ago
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).

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sgt101 1520 days ago
It is connected, via France.

There was a fire recently, but it's a strategic connection.

https://ifa1interconnector.com/

Also the UK is connected to Norway

https://northsealink.com/

And Ireland also

https://www.eirgridgroup.com/customer-and-industry/interconn...

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masklinn 1520 days ago
> It’d be stupid to run a cable straight through the EU, as well, yes.

Politically, maybe. Technically and financially, not at all.

There’s 3GW of interconnection between france and the UK with a 4th under construction, and france is a broker / hub between germany, italy, spain, and the UK (as well as its own production).

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justincormack 1520 days ago
France won’t let solar from Spain into their grid as it undermines their nuclear financing. So from Morocco is off the table. A Spain UK connection was planned and seems sensible.
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masklinn 1520 days ago
> France won’t let solar from Spain into their grid as it undermines their nuclear financing.

Complete nonsense. France buys renewable electricity from neighbours all the time, both for itself and to sell to other neighbours. France also sells its own electricity.

A new interconnect between france and Spain is under construction (the biscay bay line), in order to bring the exchange capacity between them up to 5GW.

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