A £20bn plan to bring solar and wind power from the Sahara to Britain via the world’s longest sub-sea cable has been declared a project of “national significance” by Claire Coutinho, the new energy secretary.

The designation will streamline the planning process for the scheme, whose backers claim it could bring enough electricity from Morocco to supply more than 7mn homes, or 8 per cent of Britain’s power needs.

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Under the plan, electricity from the Guelmim Oued Noun region of southern Morocco would be supplied via cables running 3,800km under the sea to the tiny North Devon village of Alverdiscott, where it would be connected to the national grid.

Lewis said the project would have generation capacity of 10.5 gigawatts, of which 7GW would come from solar and 3.5GW from wind. “The sun shines every day there and the wind blows every evening,” he added.

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Xlinks said it is seeking a contract for 25 years guaranteeing a price of £56-£64 per MWh in 2012 prices. That is equivalent to about £77-£87 per MWh in today’s prices and is lower than the current wholesale price of about £96 per MWh.

However, prices in Britain may well fall as more renewable power comes online. Before the recent energy crisis, prices were about £50 per MWh.

Xlinks is seeking a higher guaranteed price than that awarded to onshore wind and solar in the UK government’s latest auction round for contracts, of £52 per MWh and £47 per MWh respectively, in 2012 prices. The contract length sought is also a decade longer than the typical 15 years.