Overcapacity catastrophe: U.K. pays solar farms to shut down due to grid overload from sunny days

By willowt // 2025-07-09

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U.K. pays solar farms £102,500 this year to switch off due to grid overload from sunny days.
Renewables "constraint payments" cost £650m in 2025, projected to hit £8bn annually by 2030.
Critics blame Ed Miliband’s net-zero policies for rising energy costs and grid instability.
Wind and solar overcapacity create regional supply gluts; outdated grids strain to cope.
Industry calls for grid upgrades and storage but faces political and logistical hurdles.

The U.K.’s push for renewable energy hit a new snag this year as solar farms—long considered a stable alternative to fossil fuels—were paid £102,500 ($139,169) to shut down between February and June. The National Energy System Operator (NESO), overseeing the energy grid under Energy Secretary Ed Miliband’s policies, issued orders to reduce output at five solar facilities amid surges of sunshine that risked overwhelming local power networks. The constraint payments, now extending beyond wind farms to solar energy, underscore a growing crisis of renewable overcapacity and grid inadequacy, with costs passed directly to consumers.

The rising cost of renewable overgeneration

The issue isn’t new. Wind farms in northern Scotland and offshore installations have faced similar shutdown mandates for years, driven by grid infrastructure too frail to handle sudden energy spikes. Now, the rapid growth of solar capacity, particularly in southern England, has replicated the problem. NESO’s records reveal that constraint payments for renewables totaled over £650 million ($882.62 million) this year alone, with projections escalating to £8 billion ($10.86 billion) annually by 2030 unless grid systems are overhauled. “Britain’s energy bills are surging… constraint payments are a critical and growing factor,” said John Constable, director of the Renewable Energy Foundation (REF), which exposed the solar shutdown data. He noted that renewable subsidies, totaling £200 billion ($271.61 billion) since 2002 and nearly £8,000 ($10,863) per household, have failed to create a self-sustaining market. “Developers still rely on taxpayer and billpayer support,” he added, blaming this dependency for the U.K.’s chronically high energy prices.

Political backlash and policy challenges

Opposition lawmakers accuse Miliband’s policies of prioritizing climate targets over affordability. “Ed will always put his climate goals above cheap energy—and we’ll all pay the price,” said shadow Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho of the Conservative Party. Critics argue that mandating wind and solar capacity regardless of grid conditions has created a system dependent on fossil fuels to fill gaps during winter and calm days. Even proponents of renewables admit the flaws. Solar Energy U.K.’s Chris Hewlett acknowledged the grid’s need for better storage solutions, though his group prefers policy reforms over infrastructure delays. Meanwhile, Octopus Energy champions zonal pricing—a market model where regional price differences incentivize developers to build where demand is high—calling it a “common-sense” fix. Skeptics, however, dismiss zonal pricing as a corporate loophole to raise costs rather than address structural underinvestment.

Grid infrastructure strains and the renewables paradox

The issue hinges on supply vs. demand mismatch. Solar and wind farms, often clustered in regions with weak grid connections, produce energy unevenly. NESO estimates that by 2030, the U.K. will waste a third of generated power during low-demand periods unless storage or transmission systems expand. Grid upgrades alone could cost consumers billions, yet delays persist. Historically, Britain’s grid was designed for centralized fossil fuel plants, not dispersed renewables. As wind and solar capacity tripled since 2010, bottlenecks emerged. “The real solution isn’t zonal pricing—it’s stopping overbuilding renewables that can’t guarantee reliability,” Constable urged.

A call for energy realism

The U.K. finds itself at a crossroads. Renewable subsidies and net-zero mandates, once hailed as climate solutions, now strain grids and wallets. This summer’s solar shutdowns mirror past wind energy failures, revealing systemic issues: renewables cannot yet replace fossil fuels without costly grid overhauls and storage advances. As debate intensifies over zonal pricing or fossil fuel “backup,” billpayers shoulder the burden. Without a shift toward energy pragmatism—integrated systems balancing renewables and reliable baseload power—the U.K. risks a cycle of unpredictable outages and unsustainable costs. As Miliband defends solar subsidies, critics warn the sun may be setting on his green energy vision. Sources for this article include: WattsUpWithThat.com Telegraph.co.uk Express.co.uk