Firms paid to shut down wind farms when the wind is blowing
Britain’s biggest wind farm companies are to be paid not to produce electricity when the wind is blowing.
By Robert Mendick, UK Telegraph, 19 Jun 2010 [here]
Energy firms will receive thousands of pounds a day per wind farm to turn off their turbines because the National Grid cannot use the power they are producing. …
The National Grid fears that on breezy summer nights, wind farms could actually cause a surge in the electricity supply which is not met by demand from businesses and households.
The electricity cannot be stored, so one solution – known as the ‘balancing mechanism’ – is to switch off or reduce the power supplied. …
The first successful test shut down of wind farms took place three weeks ago. Scottish Power received £13,000 for closing down two farms for a little over an hour on 30 May at about five in the morning. …
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