Britain is facing a costly issue in its renewable energy sector, spending nearly £180,000 per hour to switch off wind farms due to grid limitations.
In the first two months of 2025, constraint payments—compensation given to wind farms for reducing output to balance the grid—have already reached £252 million, a 60% increase from the same period last year. This expense ultimately falls on consumers through their energy bills.
The need for these payments stems from bottlenecks in the network transporting electricity between northern and southern Britain.
When a wind farm cannot feed its generated power into the grid without risking overload, it receives a constraint payment to reduce output. Simultaneously, another generator, often a gas plant, is tasked with covering any shortfall elsewhere in the network, typically at a much higher cost.
Critics, including the Britain Remade campaign group and Octopus Energy, argue that this inefficiency results from the current electricity pricing system, which maintains uniform wholesale power costs across the country.
They advocate for a regional pricing system that would better reflect local supply and demand, potentially reducing bills for all consumers and encouraging more strategic placement of renewable energy projects.
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero defends the current approach, stating that the National Energy System Operator’s (Neso) report indicates the possibility of achieving clean power by 2030 with cheaper electricity, even accounting for constraint payments. The government’s Clean Power Action Plan aims to upgrade infrastructure to accommodate renewable electricity on the grid and minimise constraint payments.
A spokesperson for Neso said: “Neso takes its role to deliver a safe, secure and reliable national electricity network at least cost to consumers extremely seriously.
“We are constantly looking for new ways to reduce costs associated with balancing electricity supply and demand on a second-by-second basis, as these costs are passed on to consumers in their electricity bill.”
As Energy Secretary Ed Miliband pushes for an expansion of wind and solar farms, the government is considering implementing a regional price system, with a decision expected later this year.
The challenge facing Britain is clear: how to harness its growing renewable energy capacity while ensuring an efficient and cost-effective power grid for all consumers. The solution will likely require a balance between infrastructure investment, pricing reforms, and technological innovation.
