The UK’s grid operator has seen its balancing costs jump as more wind farms in Scotland are being paid not to produce electricity to not overburden the constrained network in the region.
When wind generation is high in constrained regions of the network, such as Scotland, the National Energy System Operator (NESO) must take actions to turn down wind output and turn on replacement energy in unconstrained regions to keep the system balanced. Grids must have a constant balance between electricity supply and demand to avoid blackouts.
NESO’s overall balancing costs totaled $3.7 billion (£2.7 billion) in the financial year 2024/2025, up by 10% from the previous fiscal year, the electricity network operator said in its annual report on Thursday.
“Wind curtailment is currently a major driver of balancing costs,” NESO said in the report, adding that “This is because a large proportion of wind capacity in GB is connected in Scotland, which at present is a constrained region of the network.”
In the 2024/25 fiscal year, wind curtailment volumes increased to 13% of hypothetical wind outturn (wind outturn if no curtailment had taken place), NESO said.
The volumes of wind power curtailment were exacerbated by increased congestion on the system in part linked to planned outages in Scotland and high wind output over the summer period, while transfer capacity was at its lowest.
In 2024, wind power overtook natural gas to become – for the first time ever – the UK’s largest source of electricity generation for a full year, according to data from the NESO.
But the high cost of curtailments exposes the inefficiency of the current power generation and supply system. With nowhere to go, too much electricity is being wasted and bills for households are rising because the costs for the network operator are rising as it pays wind farms to remain idle.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
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