Wasted wind power - Scotland's energy needs are already met

Data from the Scottish Government shows the highest figure ever recorded for renewable electricity generation in Scotland, in the first quarter of 2026.

There was 18.1GW of renewable electricity operational capacity in Scotland as of the end of March 2026. This is far in excess of the demand for power in Scotland in 2026, and indeed for many years into the future.

Scotland's power demand is only 4.6GW - even at peak times in the Winter - including all commercial, industrial and domestic use.

We are already generating four times the amount of power we need, just from renewable sources alone.

There are a further 748 renewable electricity generation projects in the pipeline, with an estimated capacity of 39.8 GW.

The national grid is not designed to cope with this huge volume of electricity generated from intermittent sources, as it was originally built when coal-fired power stations supplied most of our energy.

The result is that much of this power must be discarded. On average, onshore wind turbines in Scotland have to be turned off around 30-40 per cent of the time, because of grid bottlenecks.

In the North of Scotland, where we have abundant wind, that figure is even higher – turbines must be turned off around 50% of the time to protect the grid.

But developers are paid whether their turbines are switched on or off.

Called ‘constraint payments’ windfarm operators are paid when they are asked to turn off their turbines. This cost has been rising every year and reached an astonishing £1.7 billion in 2024/2025. That cost is added to electricity bills.

NESO predicts that constraint costs will rise to over £7 bn by 2030.

Despite the grid bottlenecks, the Scottish Government is approving more and more windfarms, with much of the energy simply going to waste.

Even if, in theory, the electricity could be transported to England, where it could potentially be used, without a grid connection it cannot be exported or used anywhere.