Is it the end of the green energy gravy train for Viking windfarm?
The green energy gravy train is running out of steam for the Viking windfarm after its controversial constraint payments were slashed following public outcry.
Campaigners are claiming victory after the handouts to keep the turbines idle were reduced by around three quarters.
SSE came under fire soon after the windfarm went online last August when it emerged it had received a staggering £2.5m to stay switched off in the first month of operation.
The constraint payments – made by the National Electricity System Operator (Neso) to stop windfarms generating when there is insufficient network capacity – have come to symbolise all that is wrong at the heart of the industry.
And Viking Energy has suffered the brunt of that criticism.
SSE said it could comment on the reduction in payments as it was “commercially sensitive”.
“In general prices are set by generators on a number of factors to reflect reasonable costs incurred in providing services to the grid,” it said.
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Ralph Mair
High time the disgusting practice of constraint payments came to an end and the people who dreamt up this practice should be locked up.
Vic Thomas
This is the greatest example of fraudulent political dishonesty, collusion between incompetent or bent politicians & a greedy mafia style energy industry, ever seen in Britain. This mad Klondike rush to build wind farms that cannot feed their energy into the grid for anything up to 20 years until grid infrastructure catches up, is a complete failure of a developer rigged human rights abuse planning system, entirely coupled to corporate greed.
We now need to see a judicial review, political accountability and a total moratorium on any more destructive wind farm building.
Vic Thomas
Catfirth
Shetland
Richard Parkins
Constraint payments should be outlawed, we, the general public foot this bill in our electricity charges! A peedie addition, these wind turbines rely on OIL to keep running! A huge bit hypocritical!
David Watkins
Companies installing wind turbines in the North Sea insist on a payment of 40 pence per kilowatt produced, but the Government will only pay 37 pence. Domestic Consumers pay just 25 pence per kilowatt, so how does this appear to be cheap energy for the future.
Robin Muirhead
ian Tinkler
What an idiotic situation!! Just imagine the vast fortune of bill payers’ money that would have been squandered if VE had been built when originally planned and to the original proposed 250 turbine size (some fifteen-plus years ago). Shetland has a huge debt of honour and gratitude to all those who fought and delayed this project. The original proponents of a corrupt or truly stupid Council and those greedy and ignorant trustees and leaders of the SCT who railroaded this project should held to account and called out for their collective stupidity. The damage to Shetland is immense and will be with us for many, many years.