Latest news with #MorayEast
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Wind farm investigated after ‘charging households £100m to switch off turbines'
One of Britain's largest wind farms is facing an investigation into claims it overcharged customers to switch off its turbines. Regulator Ofgem has launched an inquiry into the owner of Moray East, a wind farm with 100 turbines off Scotland's east coast. Concerns have been raised over Ocean Winds potentially over-claiming cash from bill-payers in the form of so-called constraint payments. These are made when wind farms such as Moray East are told to switch off because the UK's creaking transmission grid cannot transport the excess power produced. The payments, which are added to consumer bills, are meant to compensate solely for lost income. However, Ofgem is investigating claims that Ocean Winds over-claimed millions of pounds on behalf of Moray East. The investigation comes after the Renewable Energy Foundation (REF), a charity, previously alleged widespread overcharging by wind farm operators. It passed on its findings to Ofgem, including calculations that Moray East was paid £100m in the two years to September 2023. After announcing the investigation, the watchdog said: 'There is a [general] risk that generators could exploit their position by charging Neso excessive prices to reduce their output. 'Since it began operating in the balancing mechanism in September 2021, Moray East Offshore Windfarm has been regularly instructed by Neso to reduce its generation to manage transmission constraints. 'Its prices since then appear expensive relative to the expected cost of reducing generation. Our investigation will assess whether these prices were excessive during periods of constraint.' Moray East was developed by Spain-based Ocean Winds, with its investors including Japan's Mitsubishi Capital and Kansai Electric Power. Ocean Winds is also the lead company in the adjacent massive Moray West wind farm. This is due to be operational next year and will generate electricity to power Amazon and Google's UK operations. Meanwhile, the investigation has been confirmed after The Telegraph revealed last month that Britain is paying almost £180,000 an hour to switch off wind farms because there are insufficient cables to carry the excess power generated on windy days. The payments amount to £4.3m per day, money which ultimately comes from energy bills. John Constable, of REF, said overcharging for constraint payments was common across the wind industry and Ofgem should expand its investigation. He said: 'We estimate that, in the two years to 30 September 2023, Moray East was paid approximately £100m for constraining output. 'While Ofgem is to be commended for starting an investigation into Moray East offshore wind farm, it is disturbing that it has taken nearly two years for an investigation into this single wind farm to commence. 'Our data suggests that almost all of the 123 wind farms which have received constraint payments have been overcharging the consumer and that Ofgem needs to develop a more serious strategy for reclaiming these payments and returning them to the consumer very much more promptly.' Ocean Winds was contacted for comment. Renewable UK, the wind industry trade body, declined to comment. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
17-04-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Wind farm investigated after ‘charging households £100m to switch off turbines'
One of Britain's largest wind farms is facing an investigation into claims it overcharged customers to switch off its turbines. Regulator Ofgem has launched an inquiry into the owner of Moray East, a wind farm with 100 turbines off Scotland's east coast. Concerns have been raised over Ocean Winds potentially over-claiming cash from bill-payers in the form of so-called constraint payments. These are made when wind farms such as Moray East are told to switch off because the UK's creaking transmission grid cannot transport the excess power produced. The payments, which are added to consumer bills, are meant to compensate solely for lost income. However, Ofgem is investigating claims that Ocean Winds over-claimed millions of pounds on behalf of Moray East. The investigation comes after the Renewable Energy Foundation (REF), a charity, previously alleged widespread overcharging by wind farm operators. It passed on its findings to Ofgem, including calculations that Moray East was paid £100m in the two years to September 2023. After announcing the investigation, the watchdog said: 'There is a [general] risk that generators could exploit their position by charging Neso excessive prices to reduce their output. 'Since it began operating in the balancing mechanism in September 2021, Moray East Offshore Windfarm has been regularly instructed by Neso to reduce its generation to manage transmission constraints. 'Its prices since then appear expensive relative to the expected cost of reducing generation. Our investigation will assess whether these prices were excessive during periods of constraint.' Moray East was developed by Spain-based Ocean Winds, with its investors including Japan's Mitsubishi Capital and Kansai Electric Power. Ocean Winds is also the lead company in the adjacent massive Moray West wind farm. This is due to be operational next year and will generate electricity to power Amazon and Google's UK operations. Meanwhile, the investigation has been confirmed after The Telegraph revealed last month that Britain is paying almost £180,000 an hour to switch off wind farms because there are insufficient cables to carry the excess power generated on windy days. The payments amount to £4.3m per day, money which ultimately comes from energy bills. John Constable, of REF, said overcharging for constraint payments was common across the wind industry and Ofgem should expand its investigation. He said: 'We estimate that, in the two years to 30 September 2023, Moray East was paid approximately £100m for constraining output. 'While Ofgem is to be commended for starting an investigation into Moray East offshore wind farm, it is disturbing that it has taken nearly two years for an investigation into this single wind farm to commence. 'Our data suggests that almost all of the 123 wind farms which have received constraint payments have been overcharging the consumer and that Ofgem needs to develop a more serious strategy for reclaiming these payments and returning them to the consumer very much more promptly.'
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Can offshore wind help some fish? Research increasingly says yes.
When ecologist Anthony Bicknell went looking for fish around the foundations of wind turbines a dozen or so miles off the coast of Scotland in the North Sea, he wasn't sure what he'd find. But he was ready for something surprising. Around that time, some European lobsters were catching researchers off guard by taking up residence in wind turbine foundations in the waters off of the British Isles. Sure enough, Bicknell and his team counted two more sea creatures that scientists had never documented congregating around wind turbines: a flatfish known as a dab and, most strikingly, haddock. Haddock is one of Scotland's highest-value commercial fish, ranking above cod and just below herring in total number of fish caught annually. Unlike cod, haddock don't usually hang out around shipwrecks and other human-made structures on the seafloor. The discovery that these sleek silvery fish are utilizing wind foundations, described in a study published earlier this year, demonstrates how much researchers are still learning about the potential benefits of installing wind structures in the ocean floor. Offshore wind is growing rapidly in some parts of the world, particularly in northern Europe and China, as nations look to complement other carbon-free resources like solar. In the U.S., the industry has faced opposition from the fishing industry, environmentalists, and other anti-wind groups who have raised concerns about how turbines will affect marine life. False claims about offshore wind's impact on ocean animals — especially whales — have been spread by opponents including President Donald Trump, who issued an executive order on his first day in office that has slowed the industry to a crawl. The new study from Bicknell, a senior research fellow at the University of Exeter, is the latest in a growing body of research that suggests offshore wind turbines, like other hard structures introduced to the seabed, can not only coexist with marine life but potentially benefit certain species. Scientists have repeatedly found, for example, that an oil rig or oil platform can become an oasis of hard structure in ocean expanses devoid of much else but sand. They attract barnacles, shellfish, invertebrates, and, eventually, the fish that like to eat those creatures. An entire food web can grow. Studies like Bicknell's find the same phenomenon is playing out around some wind turbines installed on the seafloor of the North Sea. Except, unlike oil rigs, these massive pieces of infrastructure are helping to reduce the carbon emissions caused by burning fossil fuels, which is rapidly warming the ocean and devastating marine life worldwide. Bicknell and his coauthors discovered that the older the wind foundation, the more fish — and sometimes bigger fish — like to call it home. This is true, they found, for many demersal fish like flatfish, haddock, and cod, which sit lower on the food chain. His team focused on the U.K. offshore wind farms known as Beatrice and Moray East; some of the studied turbines were built in 2017, while others went in around 2020. These studies also underscore that offshore wind farms are clearly changing the ocean. Scientists are still debating which species are most feeling the change. 'Are they good or bad for fish? The caveat is, well, what fish?' said Bicknell. Take the case of the European lobsters that like to turn wind foundations into homes. In 2021, researchers tagging lobsters around turbines installed off the coast of North Wales found that almost half of tagged animals hung out around a turbine's base to find food or hide from predators. The doughnut of rocks and boulders deposited around a turbine's base may also protect the lobsters. At least one tagged lobster ended up in a local fisherman's trap, providing the first anecdotal evidence that turbines can support lobsters that also feed people. For haddock, the turbines are more like a buffet. Bicknell described the fish as enjoying what he and other scientists call 'indirect benefits.' Because haddock don't usually hang around hard structures, preferring instead the sandy sea bottom, the groups that showed up on the researchers' underwater cameras likely come there to feed and then leave. His study provides more evidence that wind foundations may increase the availability of food for many fish. Some of these discoveries are helping researchers in the U.S., where offshore wind has been slow to catch on. Five projects are actively under construction in the country, but only one commercial-scale offshore wind project, South Fork Wind, is in operation today. Meanwhile, the U.K. has over 40 offshore wind installations with a total capacity of 15 GW plugged into its grid. 'I think when it comes to surveying offshore wind infrastructure for fish, yes, we are a little bit behind,' said Brendan Runde, a marine ecologist with The Nature Conservancy who is based in Virginia. Runde is part of an ongoing research project to understand how fish use two wind turbines installed off the coast of Virginia as part of a 2020 pilot by Dominion Energy. This installation — and the fish that use it — serve as a glimpse of what's to come in the region's waters. Less than a mile away, the state's first commercial-scale project is under construction and, according to its developer Dominion, on track to be completed in 2026. During construction, wind farms could have negative effects on fish, said Runde. Artificial noise, changes to seafloor sediment, and newly laid cables that emit electromagnetic fields can all impact fish in the short-term. However, his team's research has found that the Atlantic sturgeon, an endangered species, and a variety of sharks are not avoiding the area even during ongoing construction. At least 78 wind foundations have already been installed off the coast of Virginia, according to Dominion, while new ones continue to be built in spite of federal headwinds from Trump. In Virginia, offshore wind has a history of bipartisan support, and Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, is a vocal supporter of Dominion's 2.6-gigawatt, 176-turbine project. Runde's research is ongoing and must now endure a challenging political moment for the offshore wind sector. In addition to calling wind farms 'garbage' and vowing to halt the construction of new turbines, President Trump has gutted the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of staff and resources in recent months. Runde actively collaborates with NOAA scientists on this research, and his project itself is funded by the NOAA Northeast Fisheries Science Center. When it comes to measuring the long-term benefits of these structures, Runde and his team use some of the same methods as their British counterparts: baited remote underwater video, which measures fish abundance, size, and diversity at the pilot turbines. The foundations they explore can reach depths of 120 feet below the water's surface. Black sea bass are already making homes out of these foundations. Runde said that one fish that was tagged at a Virginia wind foundation in February 2024 was still there seven months later when he returned. 'We know that, for many species of fish, this wind foundation is a really big deal,' said Runde.
