Why don’t windfarms work when windy?

WESTERN Power (WPD) runs the distribution network for electrical power in the South West and beyond. It has recently become part of the privatised National Grid, which made a profit of £4.4 billion for the financial year ended 31st March 2022.

Den Brook is a large, privately owned wind farm near Okehampton. When the wind is blowing, these turbines produce electricity which is fed into the National Grid and can supply enough energy for 9,000 homes. Local people are mystified that the turbines are sometimes not working when the wind is blowing. According to the local postman, this happens quite often. So why?

One of the main reasons put forward is that the local network (the grid) becomes overloaded and cannot take any more power. WPD then switches off the turbines and all this potential alternative power is lost. The windfarm is then compensated for the loss of revenue, a cost which is eventually borne by the consumer. This happens too in windfarms across other parts of the country.

Who is responsible for this loss? It would seem that WPD have made insufficient investment to upgrade the infrastructure of the grid to cope with extra energy. At the moment the UK’s efforts to reach net zero emissions and have cheaper electricity are being hampered by a privatised monopoly, which made a profit of £4.4 billion this year.

To reach net zero emissions and to make the UK’s energy supply cheaper and more self-sufficient, we need to fully exploit all renewable sources of energy, and ensure that the grid can cope with increased energy production. Surely, now is the right time for taking the National Grid into public ownership for the good of the country rather than for the benefit of the few?

Mike Baldwin Devon