Not many people know that
By Paul Homewood
H/T Hugh Sharman
Ofgem has opened an investigation of the restrictions for Moray East Offshore Windpark:
Obgem examines the compliance with Moray Offshore Wind farm (EAST) LTD (owner and operator of Moray East Offshore Wind farm) with the requirements of the 20a condition of the standard license conditions for electricity generation (TCLC “.
A transfer restriction is defined in the TCLC as a limit for the ability of the national electricity transmission system or in each part of transferring the electricity delivered to the system to the place where the demand for this service is located. In order to manage transmission restrictions, the National Energy System operator (“NESO”) uses the compensation mechanism (“BM”) routinely to increase and reduce the amount of electricity generated by different generators.
As a rule, NESO only has a limited number of alternatives when managing a transfer restriction. This creates a risk that generators could take advantage of their position by charging NESO excessive prices to lower their production. The TCLC prohibits you to do this.
Since it was in operation in the BM in September 2021, NESO regularly has been instructed to reduce its generation to manage transmission restrictions. Since then, the BID prices seem to be expensive compared to the expected border costs for reducing the generation for this generator. Our investigation will assess whether these BID prices were excessive in periods of the restrictions.
https://www.ofgem.gov.
According to The Telegraph, Moray East received 100 million pounds in the two years until September 2023.
The problem is the usual that we see regularly – Moray East lies in front of the northeast coast of Scotland. If there is wind, the transmission system cannot be finished with the current flow to the south, where the demand is.
https://www.morayeast.com/project/about-moray-east
Apart from the question of whether Moray East has done something wrong or not, the real fault for this abuse of public money lies with the one who has admitted that this wind farm is built in a place where it would not be possible to use its performance completely.
Due to the political decisions about this and many others that like it in Northern Scotland, we are now facing a legislative template that is tens of billions to improve the power grid.
As we know, in addition to the obsession of the SNP, these decisions were made by an “energy -independent” Scotland in the crazy, head -over -rush.
But in the middle of all this waste of money is the biggest scandal of the lot, which continued in the Shetlands, where the Giantwikinger -Windpark has started to operate.
Originally proposed in 2005, it has caused growing concerns regarding the environmental impact.
Before 2019, the Herald reported that the project tore apart the island community:
It is a topic that has divided a community for more than a decade.
When plans for a huge wind farm were proposed on an untouched goal area in Shetland, the islanders were presented in 2005 as a company in the community in the possession of municipalities to earn £ 37 million a year.
But after 14 years and growing concerns about the fragile biological diversity in Shetland, which is broken by the 155 meter turbines, which are built on flawless gateland and the infrastructure required for construction work, hundreds of insulans are now demanding that the project are abolished.
Frank Hay, Chairman of Sustainable Shetland, an action group that was founded in 2009 to take over the multi-million-Million-Wikinger wind farms from Viking and Partner Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) from Viking Energy Shetland (VES).
The risk of moorlides is just one of the concerns of the local meteorologist and geologist to all fraser. He said: “Most access roads are floating roads in peat, which are more than five meters deep, which disturbs natural drainage to the valleys, which leads to erosion and goal facilities.
“The carbon release and the risk of pollution have not been properly examined. The work that has already started shows that the planning and environmental restrictions that have been set up to developers are avoided or ignored.”
Mr. Fraser said: “The wind farm and others who granted or in the planning process or extend in the planning process over the length of the islands over 70 kilometers, all on peat, on an island chain of low hills that are 110 km wide and only 10 km wide.
“Access roads and power lines as well as at least 12 super stone breaks will be
Cross and permanently the hills for 150 km scars. “
Richard Lindsay, head of environmental and nature conservation research at the University of East London, who visited the site, said: “The simple fact is that only 30 cm peat above a hectare contains the same amount of carbon as a hectare tropical rainforest – around 280 tons.
Activists have argued that Shetland cannot support the 700 million pound connection cable that the energy would be transferred from the islands to mainland. Mr. Fraser said: “No amplifier generated by these huge wind farms is for use in Shetland, everything is for the export of the cable. There is no guarantee for a benefit of the community after the shareholders and owners of the wind farm have taken their cut.”
https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/17858289.green-energy-scheme-tear- island-community-apart
The activists had the right to complain about the connecting facilities. Hans Marter von Shetland News takes over the story with this new article:
What was promoted as the “most productive onshore windpark” of the UK is one of the most worst representing in the country.
Instead of generating electricity with a load factor of around 50 percent, as is predicted and promoted by the owner of owners of the owner of the Wikinger Energy Windpark, it has so far been powered by electricity with only 17 percent of the potentially possible electricity.
The 103-turbine project became in operation last year in the summer.
According to Renewables UK, the average load factor for Onshore wind farms in Great Britain is currently 26.34 percent. For offshore projects, the average performance increases to just over 40 percent.
The 600 million pounds on the central mainland of Shetland are idle due to restrictions and bottlenecks in the National Grid Network.
The Viking Windpark took third place in Great Britain in 2024 for the highest energy, as reported by Shetland News in January.
In the past five months of the year, over 464,000 MWh of energy was restricted in SSE property, as data from the Renewable Energy Foundation (REF) show.
Only two wind farms – Seaagreen and Moray East – had higher sums, both offshore developments.
The 443 MW wind farm should supply up to half a million households with electricity, but industry experts have long warned that every new wind farm project in the north of Scotland was in danger of being “stranded” until the national network is improved.
However, SSE Renewables makes the restrictions for the time in which Viking does not produce any energy.
Frank Hay, chairman of the local campaign group Sustainable Shetland, said he was not surprised that SSE is shy about the Viking load factor.
“As can be seen, this wind farm is a part-time operator. Pervers seems to work mainly when the winds are easy,” said Hay.
“It seems ridiculous that the inadequacy on the mainland in Great Britain was not obvious if the approval of this wind farm was considered.
“Unfortunately, it will probably take years for the necessary grid upgrades to be completed and Shetland's 'World Class -Wind' can be used completely.
https://www.shetnews.co.uk/2025/14/viking-energy-power-outPut-drops
So we have it!
1.3 billion pounds were spent on the construction of Viking and his and his and minced priority for the hardly any obvious advantage for the islanders or the country in general, which pays the invoice in one way or another.
In the meantime, it is controversial whether it will actually reduce the emissions of carbon dioxide, given the destruction on the goal landing.
But at least his developer, SSE Renewables, can boast:
“Green Energy from Viking will make a significant contribution to the goals of climate change and help Scotland's transition until 2045 to Netto null emissions and offer an important source of economic diversification for the islands”
I suspect it is the type of economic diversification that the Shetlanders could do without!
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