£24m cost of switching off turbines

Consumers paid out £24 million last year to wind farm owners who had to switch off their turbines because the conditions meant they could not operate, the Government has admitted.

The Tory MP for Rugby, Mark Pawsey, said many payments were being made because it was often too breezy for turbines to work as the electricity grid could not cope with the power that they generated in high winds. In other cases, turbines have been switched off because there is not enough wind.