Britain spends over £1.5bn paying wind farms to switch off

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 5 Oct, 19:42 · Archive

Britain has spent more than £1.5 billion this year paying wind farms to shut down when the grid cannot cope with the power, with more expensive gas-fired plants stepping in instead. The costs have already surpassed last year's total of £1.47 billion with three months of the year still remaining.

On one day in September, the bill reached £1 million per hour, according to Octopus Energy. Octopus Energy founder Greg Jackson described the current system as 'madness'. The costs arise because remote wind farms are paid to switch off when the grid cannot manage the power they generate, requiring nearer gas-fired plants to provide electricity instead.

How it is being reported

• Britain has blown past last year's £1.5bn bill for switching off wind farms with three months of the year still to goThis is Money · 5 Oct, 19:27
• Britain spends £1.5BILLION paying wind farms to switch off and gas plants to step inGB News · 5 Oct, 14:29

In this story: Britain · Octopus Energy · Greg Jackson

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