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  1. #1
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    crazy Scots windfarms paid cash to stop producing energy

    Scots windfarms paid cash to stop producing energy




    Windfarms at six sites across Scotland were paid to stop producing electricity



    Six Scottish windfarms were paid up to £300,000 to stop producing energy, it has emerged.
    The turbines, at a range of sites across Scotland, were stopped because the grid network could not absorb all the energy they generated.
    Details of the payments emerged following research by the Renewable Energy Foundation (REF).
    The REF said energy companies were paid £900,000 to halt the turbines for several hours between 5 and 6 April.
    According to the REF research, the payments made cost up to 20 times the value of the electricity that would have been generated if the turbines had kept running.
    The largest payment was given to Whitelee windfarm in East Renfrewshire, owned by Scottish Power, which was paid £308,000 in April.
    The RWE nPower-owned Farr windfarm, south of Inverness, received £265,000 in the same month.



    'Very wasteful'

    Hadyardhill in South Ayrshire, which is owned by SSE Renewables, was given £140,000 to stop producing energy, while Blacklaw windfarm in Lanarkshire - also owned by Scottish Power - was given £130,000.
    The Millennium windfarm in the Highlands and Beinn Tharsuin, just north of Alness, each received £33,000 and £11,500 respectively.
    Dr Lee Moroney, planning director for the REF, which has criticised subsidies to the renewable sector in the past, said: "The variability of wind power poses grid management problems for which there are no cheap solutions.


    "However, throwing the energy away, and paying wind farms handsomely for doing so, is not only costly but obviously very wasteful.
    "Government must rethink the scale and pace of wind power development before the costs of managing it become intolerable and the scale of the waste scandalous."
    The National Grid said the network had overloaded because high winds and heavy rain in Scotland overnight on 5 and 6 April produced more wind energy than it could use.
    Spokesman Stewart Larque said: "One of our key roles is to balance supply and demand for energy."
    He added: "On the evening of the 5th into the 6th of April, the wind in Scotland was high, it was raining heavily, which also created more hydro energy than normal."
    Mr Larque said a transmission fault in the system meant the surplus energy could not be transferred to England and so generation had to be cut.
    He also confirmed that the National Grid spent £280m balancing supply and demand.
    A spokesman for the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC), described the incident as "unusual" and said more electrical storage was needed.
    He added: "In future we need greater electrical energy storage facilities and greater interconnection with our EU neighbours so that excess energy supplies can be sold or bought where required."
    A Scottish government spokesman said electricity generated by renewables accounted for 27.4% of Scotland's electricity use.
    He added: "National Grid is responsible for balancing the supply of electricity from all sources across the grid to match demand and generators will sometimes be required to reduce output as part of that process.
    "At the same time, the Scottish and UK governments have been working with the National Grid and others in the industry to strengthen grid capacity and address access constraints."


    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-13253876
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  2. #2
    DF Admin 4me2's Avatar
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    Default Re: Scots windfarms paid cash to stop producing energy

    You couldn't make this shit up could you ?

    WTF ?
    There are 3 types of people in the world - those who make things happen, those who watch things happen; and those who wondered what happened.

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  3. #3
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    Default Re: Scots windfarms paid cash to stop producing energy

    Dr Lee Moroney, planning director for the REF, which has criticised subsidies to the renewable sector in the past, said: "The variability of wind power poses grid management problems for which there are no cheap solutions.

    "However, throwing the energy away, and paying wind farms handsomely for doing so, is not only costly but obviously very wasteful.
    "Government must rethink the scale and pace of wind power development before the costs of managing it become intolerable and the scale of the waste scandalous."
    I don't get this, why is someone that works for the REF (Renewable Energy Foundation) making statements that appear to oppose investment and continued development of renewable energy?
    Last edited by Mule; 1st May 2011 at 09:28 PM.

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    DF Admin 4me2's Avatar
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    Default Re: Scots windfarms paid cash to stop producing energy

    Quote Originally Posted by Mule View Post
    I don't get this, why is someone that works for the REF (Renewable Energy Foundation) making statements that appear to oppose investment and continued development of renewable energy?
    He is not opposing it.

    He is taking a swipe at the govt for blatently wasting money.

    It's obvious that in a time of wide scale cuts and money saving the govt shouldn't go on increasing wind turbines unless there is enough capacity for it.

    anything else is wasting tax payers money.

    The REF said energy companies were paid £900,000 to halt the turbines for several hours between 5 and 6 April.
    According to the REF research, the payments made cost up to 20 times the value of the electricity that would have been generated if the turbines had kept running.
    There are 3 types of people in the world - those who make things happen, those who watch things happen; and those who wondered what happened.

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    DF VIP Member Over Carl's Avatar
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    Default Re: Scots windfarms paid cash to stop producing energy

    Also why should they be paid extra to stop? Imho they should consider themselves lucky to be paid the normal rate if not actually producing anything of any use.

  6. #6
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    Default Re: Scots windfarms paid cash to stop producing energy

    Quote Originally Posted by 4me2 View Post
    He is not opposing it.

    He is taking a swipe at the govt for blatently wasting money.
    Well, it certainly reads that way to me.

    Quote Originally Posted by Over carl View Post
    Also why should they be paid extra to stop? Imho they should consider themselves lucky to be paid the normal rate if not actually producing anything of any use.
    I suppose they're contracted to be paid regardless and it probably costs them to stop and start production.

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    DF VIP Member the.insane's Avatar
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    Default Re: Scots windfarms paid cash to stop producing energy

    they have too much electricity but our bills keep going up and up, something doesnt add here
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    DF Admin 4me2's Avatar
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    Default Re: Scots windfarms paid cash to stop producing energy

    Quote Originally Posted by the.insane View Post
    they have too much electricity but our bills keep going up and up, something doesnt add here
    That's the whole point.

    They make more money out of taxing us on conventual ways of providing power than on wind farms.

    It can only be that.
    There are 3 types of people in the world - those who make things happen, those who watch things happen; and those who wondered what happened.

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