Consumers in England and Wales may have to pay millions of pounds in compensation to Scottish wind farms after a £1.1 billion underwater cable failed for a second time. The Western Link, which connects Hunterston in Ayrshire and Connah’s Quay on Deeside, will be out of action until the end of May as engineers tackle a failure 90 miles off the Scottish coast. The Renewable Energy Foundation, a charity analysing the green energy market, suggested the “relatively untried” technology of the Western Link could be behind its repeated failures. Payments are made to wind farm operators when they turn off turbines should supply outstrip local demand or bottlenecks in the grid prevent exports. The money is paid by the National Grid but ultimately charged to consumers and added on to electricity bills.
Times 22nd April 2019 read more »
