Wind farms paid £3m to switch off

National Grid’s huge handout for only ONE day

WIND farm operators were handed more than £3million to turn off their turbines for just one day.

So much energy was being generated on one windy Sunday that the National Grid feared it would be swamped, so it paid for turbines to be switched off.

Green campaigners have boasted that on August 7, all Scotland’s electricity needs were met by the high winds that buffeted the country.

But new figures reveal the hidden costs of what was heralded as a ‘major moment’ for the wind energy industry.

Statistics show that the constraint bill ran to a record £3,137,704 – and the final total may exceed £4million.

August 7 was not exceptionally windy by winter standards but as the blowy conditions arrived on a Sunday in summer, the demand for electricity was unusually low and the grid was quickly flooded with unwanted supply.

Anti-wind farm campaigner Stuart Young, of Dunnet, Caithness, said: ‘These outrageous payments underline the absolute folly of relying so heavily on wind farms for a national energy strategy.

‘Somebody has to foot the bill for this compensation. The generators and suppliers put the money into the scheme but in the end, the costs are passed down to consumers.

‘No other form of energy is so inefficient and unreliable and the public should be angry at how they are being conned.’

The unseasonal wind speeds on August 7 saw gusts as high as 115mph on the Cairngorm mountains and between 35 and 40mph in lowland areas.

The conditions saw a bumper return for wind farm operators across the country, as they produced 39,545 megawatt hours (MWh) of electricity for the National Grid, while Scotland only required 37,202 MWh.

With no way of dealing with the excess supply, the Grid paid operators of 36 wind farms to shut down their turbines.

Operators are expected to receive a further £1million compensation for loss of earngroup ings for the temporary shutdown. The previous highest single payment was £3,030,977 on October 26, 2014.

The compensation fund was established in 2011 and since then has dished out more than £235million across Scotland.

However, the constraint scheme won backing last night from environmental campaign World Wildlife Fund Scotland. Director Lang Banks said: ‘The National Grid pays most power generators, including coal and gas companies, to reduce output on occasion.

‘It’s how they ensure demand is met by supply in the most cost-effective way.

‘Those concerned about payments to power firms to reduce their output should be supporting our calls to see improvements to the grid and more energy storage capacity such as pumped hydro.’

A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘Constraint payments such as these demonstrate the urgent need for further investment in the electricity transmission network across Britain to ensure it can meet the needs of the 21st century.

‘A major programme of grid investment is already under way in Scotland.’

Comment – Page 16

‘The public should be angry’