Wasted wind bill hits £1 billion
Britain has already spent £1 billion this year on wasting homegrown wind power
The £1bn milestone has been reached TWO MONTHS earlier than last year
Wasted wind costs have MORE THAN DOUBLED in just two years
Costs could soar to £3.2bn in the next 12 months, according to the system operator
London, 10th August 2026 – Britain has already spent a staggering £1 billion this year turning off wind farms and switching on gas plants instead – costs that end up on everyone’s bills.
Data by the Wasted Wind tracker shows Britain reached the milestone this last Saturday – two months earlier than in 2025, with costs a whopping £300 million higher than this time last year.
Britain’s wasted wind bill is rising fast under the current electricity market design, which the system operator (NESO) recommended replacing years ago, with costs more than doubling in just two years.
The problem comes because Britain’s electricity grid often cannot move all the power from where it is being generated to where it is needed, meaning wind farms in Scotland are regularly paid to turn off while expensive gas plants close to demand centres in the south are fired up instead.
The system operator predicts these so-called constraint costs to soar to £3.2 billion over the next 12 months, while the government warns costs could reach up to £10 billion by 2030.*
The most expensive day so far this year was on 2nd July, when £21 million was paid out to wind and gas generators in constraint payments in a single day.
One way to reduce these costs would be to move to a devolved electricity market that better reflects where power is being generated and where it is needed. Analysis by FTI shows that such a system would dramatically reduce such system inefficiency and lower bills for every home and business in the country, with a typical household saving up to £114 a year.**
Greg Jackson, Founder and CEO of Octopus Energy, said: “The way Britain’s electricity system is run is bonkers – you wouldn’t grow tomatoes in your garden, only to bin them and buy expensive, imported ones from the shop. So why are we doing the same thing with electricity?
“We should use this wind to give people cheap power locally, instead of paying billions to throw it away. That’d be a welcome relief for families and businesses – it’s low hanging fruit that should absolutely appeal to a government which is focused on cost of living and devolution.”
-ENDS-
Data source: Elexon Insights
Notes to editors
* NESO Operational Transparency Forum (p. 16); DESNZ Reformed National Pricing Delivery Plan (p. 48)
** Independent analysis by FTI (p. 4)
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