Rabat - Locals in Devon, a county in southwest England, have expressed frustration about the potential impacts of the Morocco-UK Morocco Power project on local tourism and daily life.

The project is being overseen by Xlinks investment company. 

This ambitious project aims to generate 11.5 gigawatts of zero-carbon electricity from solar and wind energy in Morocco, which will be transferred to the UK via 4,000 kilometers of sub-sea cables.

The project, which runs from Guelmim Oued-Noun in southwest Morocco, includes two connections in Devon. Although the project is aimed at boosting the UK’s electricity needs, Devon residents worry that the construction and operational phases could disrupt the local economy in the region.

BBC quoted locals and farmers in the region, expressing concerns about the potential impacts the promising project could bring to their county.

“I feel devastated,” 76-year-old local Tony Solan said, noting that the area will be “in chaos for years.”

 He lamented the negative impact for the traveling industry. “What tourists will want to come here when the area is completely disrupted?”

Solan’s wife also expressed concerns, noting that the region is a “quiet place” but suggested that this calm will end with the new project. “You can hear the birds but with this proposal we’re going to have noise, lights, lorries and drilling,” she said. 

In response to residents’ frustration, Xlinks stressed the importance of the project and its potential to reduce the UK’s CO2 emissions.

“I understand residents’ concerns and we want to work on those,” the company’s CEO  James Humfrey stressed.

He also emphasized the company’s commitment to working hard to “minimise disruption when we build the project.”

Xlinks stressed that it has put measures in place, including a temporary road to “take the majority of construction off local roads.”

The measures for the locals also include putting restrictions on hours and methods for building work, as well as installing underground cables to reduce the amount of time the company works in any area.

In April, Xlinks issued an update that there has been “significant upward pressure on the cost of all energy projects.”

As of April, the company projects the construction cost for the Morocco-UK Power Project to range between £22-24 billion ($27-$30 billion), a staggering uptick from the initial £20 billion ($24 billion).

In addition, the strike price for the project now sits between £70-80/MWh, based on 2012 pricing.