Brits have shelled out the eye-watering sum to switch off wind turbines to avoid overloading the network
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband (Image: Getty)
Ed Miliband came under fire after it emerged energy billpayers have spent £1 billion this year to turn off wind farms. The eye-watering sum is spent on compensation for ordering them to switch off as the grid near wind turbines gets overloaded when the weather is very windy.
At the same time, other sources are paid to be used as a replacement. So far this year the combined total has reached a record £1 billion, according to the Wasted Wind website supported by the energy supplier Octopus. This is compared with £734 million at this point last year.
Tory MP Esther McVey hit out at the Energy Secretary, saying: “Mad Miliband’s ideological fanaticism for net zero at any cost means Britain’s electricity operators are forced to pay compensation when the turbines have to be switched off.
“Incredibly that means bill payers forked out a record £1bn this year to switch them off. No wonder energy bills are so high.
“Can’t we switch off Miliband instead & save ourselves some money?”
Mr Miliband has pledged to bring down energy bills while removing fossil fuels from the network by 2030.
It comes as the Tories have announced that they would scrap the 2050 net zero target.
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said: “We are delivering the biggest upgrade in Great Britain’s electricity network in decades, which will minimise constraint costs, meet the capacity needed to deliver clean power by 2030, and help bring down bills for households and businesses for good.”
