Britain spends £1.5bn switching wind off and gas on

Good afternoon. Britain has already spent more this year switching wind farms off and gas plants on than it did throughout last year. The bill: £1.51bn. Energy suppliers, meanwhile, warn of the worst winter crisis since 2022. Labour’s promise of cheaper energy looks increasingly expensive to deliver.

• The grid: Britain has spent more than £1.51bn switching wind farms off and gas plants on this year, exceeding last year’s £1.47bn total.

• Households: Energy suppliers warn of a winter crisis comparable to 2022, despite government promises that clean power will bring down bills.

• Energy security: The MoD warns that proposed Yorkshire wind turbines could interfere with military radar, while Equinor questions future North Sea investment.

• Overseas: India defends affordable energy as essential to development, while an Australian court ruling raises questions for coal exports.

• Analysis: Dieter Helm challenges the economics of Britain's energy policy, while Aberdeen's decline and the technical risks facing electricity grids come under scrutiny.

The £1.5bn bill for net zero lunacy

Britain has spent more than £1.5bn switching wind farms off and gas plants on—with three months of the year still to go. Last year’s entire £1.47bn bill has already been surpassed.

September alone cost £404m. On 30 September, £30m was paid out in just 24 hours. The figures come from Octopus Energy’s Wasted Wind tracker.

When the grid cannot carry wind farms’ output to where it is needed, operators are paid to stop generating. Gas plants nearer consumers are then paid to replace it. Those replacement payments account for most of the cost.

And the bill could get much worse. Government analysis cited in the report suggests annual constraint costs could reach £10bn by 2030.

Why it matters: Ministers sell wind power as the route to cheaper bills, while consumers pay to switch turbines off and gas plants on. With annual constraint costs potentially reaching £10bn by 2030, the drive for more wind capacity risks locking Britain into still higher costs. Households and industry will be left paying for the net zero promises. Read more

Britain faces another winter energy squeeze

Energy suppliers warn that British households could face a winter energy crisis comparable to 2022 and are calling for urgent government action. Miatta Fahnbulleh says ministers are examining further measures to protect families from unaffordable bills while pursuing cheaper energy through clean power.

Labour promised to reduce household energy bills by £300. Consumers have yet to see those savings, and the promise of cheaper power in years to come offers little comfort to families facing this winter’s bills. Read more

Wind turbines raise air defence concerns

The Ministry of Defence is opposing plans for 23 wind turbines in Yorkshire, warning that they could interfere with RAF air traffic control and radar systems used to detect hostile aircraft. Each turbine would be twice the height of Big Ben. The MoD says trials have demonstrated the adverse effects wind farms can have on Britain's air defence capabilities. Read more

Equinor warns blocking North Sea projects would put investment at risk

Equinor chief executive Anders Opedal warns that refusing approval for Rosebank and Jackdaw would be a major setback for North Sea investment. Speaking at the Energy Intelligence Forum in London, he questioned whether Britain would remain investable if the projects were blocked. Read more

India puts energy security before climate politics

India's External Affairs Minister, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, has told the UN General Assembly that energy security is fundamental to development and warned against manipulating energy prices for political purposes. Writing for PJ Media, Vijay Jayaraj argues that India's position challenges wealthy nations demanding that developing economies abandon fossil fuels while pursuing industrial growth and affordable energy. Read more

Australian coal exports face legal uncertainty

An Australian court has ruled against a proposed coal mine expansion on climate grounds. Environmental campaigners expect the decision to influence future approvals for fossil-fuel projects, with potential consequences for a coal export sector worth a reported $49bn. Read more

Three arguments to read alongside this week’s news.

Dieter Helm: shifting the bill won’t bring energy costs down

Writing in The Times, energy economist Dieter Helm argues that Britain’s net-zero policies have locked in high energy costs for years to come. Cutting VAT, shifting subsidies to taxpayers or supporting industrial consumers, he warns, will not address the underlying costs of the electricity system. He calls for fundamental reform of the energy strategy, rather than further changes to who pays the bill. Read more

Aberdeen counts the cost of North Sea decline

Writing in Le Monde, Marie de Vergès examines Aberdeen’s uncertain future as Britain debates further North Sea development. The city has lost 18,000 jobs in less than 15 years. Industry warns that a 78% tax burden and regulatory uncertainty are accelerating the decline, with decisions on Rosebank and Jackdaw still pending. Read more

Is net zero making the grid less resilient?

Richard Lyon examines how the electricity grid maintains stability and why replacing conventional generation creates new technical challenges. Pointing to Spain’s blackout, he argues that systems once protected by the physical characteristics of traditional power stations increasingly depend on contracts, electronic controls and operational decisions. Grid stability, he warns, cannot be taken for granted as the energy transition accelerates. Read more

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