UK wind turbine power going  to waste as storage capacity lags

The shortage of storage wastes energy and adds to electricity bills for households already hit hard by the cost of living crisis

The cost of turning off UK wind turbines jumped to a record last year because the country’s storage capacity can’t keep up with the growth in renewables output.

Enough renewable power to supply 800,000 homes was wasted in 2020 and 2021 as wind farms were forced to stop to ensure the stability of the grid, a report commissioned by Drax Group shows.

The cost of turning off turbines climbed about 70% to £507m (€592m) last year alone, contributing to higher emissions and energy bills for consumers.

The wasted output highlights the difficulty the country faces in reaching its green goals with a network that’s still unable to store large amounts of electricity. Saving this cheap power to be used later or using it to produce green hydrogen will be the challenge for the UK government as it aims to expand offshore wind capacity to 50 gigawatts by the end of the decade.

Chris Matson of Lane Clark and Peacock carried out the report for Drax. Mr Matson said: 

Increasing the output from wind power is essential for the UK to achieve its climate targets and ensure energy security. 

“And yet, because investment in the infrastructure needed to support this expansion has not kept pace, wind curtailment is costing the consumer and the environment,” he said.

Paying turbines to switch off is a normal part of balancing the grid when there’s more wind being produced than it can take. The charges are paid for via consumer bills, adding further to the cost-of-living crisis.

Drax is calling for a new regulatory framework to support more private investment into long-duration storage to enable surplus wind power to be held for use when needed, such as when there’s a shortage of renewable output. That would reduce waste and also cut emissions from plants using fossil fuels to fill the gap.

• Bloomberg