Scotland windfarms paid £300,000 to stop energy production

Six windfarms in Scotland have been paid up to £300,000 to stop producing energy. The turbines, at a number of sites across Scotland, had to be stopped as the grid network could not absorb all the energy they generated.

Details of the payments came to light after a research report by the Renewable Energy Foundation  (REF), which revfealed that energy companies were paid £900,000 to halt the turbines for several hours between 5 and 6 April.

The REF research said, the payments made amounted to the equivalent of 20 times the value of the electricity that would have been generated if the turbines had kept running.

Scottish Power-owned Whitelee windfarm in East Renfrewshire received the largest payment of £308,000 in April. In the same month, RWE nPower-owned Farr windfarm, south of Inverness, received £265,000 in the same month.

SSE Renewables-owned, Hadyardhill in South Ayrshire, received £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, north of Alness, were paid £33,000 and £11,500 respectively.