Renewable sources of electricity are mostly wind and solar; in the UK we also a small amount of hydro.
These are termed renewable, but they are also intermittent. They fluctuate with the time of year, from one week to the next and also from moment to moment during the day. They need to be part of a diverse system that can provide backup electricity when the sun isn’t shining and the wind isn’t blowing.
They are also proving to be expensive. The only way we can commission wind and solar generation is with the assistance of subsidies. As a consequence of the UK’s policy to phase out oil, coal and gas, consumers and industries in the UK are therefore paying approximately double the global average electricity cost. See globalelectricity.org for more discussion and comparison of nations.
And, as we increase the percentage of our electricity from these sources, our distribution system is becoming more difficult to manage and more prone to outages.
Electricity production from renewables…
- is more expensive than oil, gas, coal, nuclear,
- is only possible through subsidies to the generators which we pay for through our electricity bills
- In the UK subsidies to renewable energy sector costs us £25.8 billion every year (approx 50% of our annual defence budget).
- Subsidy to renewable electricity generators comprises about 40% of the total cost of electricity supply in the UK.
- From 2002 to 2025 the total cost of renewable electricity subsidy schemes was £200 billion (equivalent to nearly £8k per household)
- is not of a type that is stable and easy to distribute around the nation (problems with frequency and inertia)
- will always require gas powered turbines as back up (because there is no sun at night and the wind doesn’t always blow).
- results in a grid that is unstable and prone to blackouts.
- happens in locations that need expensive infrastructure to connect to the grid (i.e. we can’t use all that is generated)
- We are paying the generators ‘constraint payments’ to discard energy in order to preserve grid stability.
- Sometimes payments are made to a generator in return for reducing output because more electricity is being generated than can be used in a particular region because a grid ‘constraint’ exists – an analogy would be a road block – preventing that electricity being exported to a region where the electricity could be used.
- Such a constraint exists between Scotland and England. Increasingly more electricity is being generated in Scotland than can be used in Scotland, and the grid interconnections between Scotland and England are insufficient to take the excess electricity which is generated, usually at times of often unexpectedly high winds and low Scottish demand.
- In 2025 constraint payments paid to a total of 114 wind farms under the Balancing Mechanism came close to £400M.
- We are paying the generators ‘constraint payments’ to discard energy in order to preserve grid stability.
To understand the issues we need to get to know a bit more about characteristics of electricity and how it is generated and distributed.
Here are some interviews that cover the technical details.
- This short video is a short but comprehensive introduction to the generation of electricity from wind turbines. It includes helpful graphics of the inside of turbines and explains how electricity from wind turbines is different to that from conventional turbines in terms of frequency and inertia.
- Our electricity distribution system and why the UK nearly had a blackout on Jan 8 2025. (interview with Kathryn Porter on UnHerd YouTube channel)
- An energy consultant outlines dangers/risks caused by our electricity policies in the UK, particularly about how renewables fit into our electricity grid (my notes and link to original interview).
- Documentary on the situation in Australia by Sky News Australia. The documentary also looks at the situation in USA.
- Is NetZero bankrupting Britain? The UK is spending £25 billion a year in hidden subsidies on green energy—totalling over £220 billion since 2002. Guaranteed high prices for renewables (like windfarms) are implemented through “Contracts for Difference”. This means that even if the electricity produced cannot be used, they still get paid for it. Proposed changes to this arrangment could add another £10b per year on electricity bills. Where is the discussion on this? They can be done quietly, without public scrutiny. For more, see Renewable Energy Foundation.
- Institute of Economic Affairs discusses the recent power grid failure in Spain and Portugal, exploring how increasing reliance on intermittent energy sources like wind and solar may contribute to grid instability.