“So far this year, the UK has spent more than £1 billion ($1.3 billion) in ‘congestion costs’ to turn off plants that can’t deliver electricity because of grid constraints, and switch on others,” Bloomberg reports. A cost that is ultimately borne by consumers.
The UK has boosted its offshore wind fleet by 50% in the past five years and plans to double it in the next five years, but the grid hasn’t expanded at the same pace, resulting in the operator paying wind farms to turn off.
So far in 2024, the UK has spent over £1 billion in “congestion costs” to turn off wind farms that can’t deliver electricity due to grid constraints and switch on others, with Scotland’s offshore wind farms being particularly affected.
The problem of curtailed generation has become increasingly common, with this year’s congestion costs exceeding last year’s total and second only to 2022 when power prices were almost three times as high...<<<Read More>>>...
