Electricity generated from windfarms going to waste is costing billpayers an extra £40 a year, according to a new report.
Energy think tank Carbon Tracker says when it gets too windy the Grid cannot cope with the additional power being generated so wind farms are paid to shut down with gas-powered stations providing power instead.
This ‘wind curtailment’ or shutdown costs amounted to £590 million or £40 per bill payer in 2023, Carbon Tracker estimates, but could soar to £150 next year with consumers footing the bill.
"The problem is, there are not enough cables. The logical solution would be to build more grid infrastructure," Lorenzo Sani, analyst at Carbon Tracker, told the BBC.
"It's not even that expensive," he added, compared to wind curtailment.
Government has promised to slash the time it takes to build new networks and bring in new cabling to handle additional wind power, but going through the approval, planning and build process can take a decade.
Last month, Ofgem introduced new rules to remove zombie projects that have no chance of being developed and are blocking the planning process.
People living near electricity pylons are also being offered £1,000 off their energy bills for 10 years to accept new cabling.
Carbon Tracker says the problem will be even greater by 2030 when wind generation from Scotland is set to jump four-fold but the amount of cabling only double.
By then, the cost of wind curtailment could be £180 on every bill, says the research group.