The government will veto new clean energy projects if the electrical grid cannot handle their output. Healey declared there is “no sense in building power that can’t connect and then paying to switch it off.” This marks a tactical retreat from previous rigid decarbonisation timelines in order to prioritize consumer energy bills
The crackdown comes as Britain hits a record milestone, spending over £1.5 billion in 2026 alone on balancing costs. This involves paying remote wind farms (primarily in Scotland) to shut down during high-wind grid bottlenecks while simultaneously paying gas plants to fire up closer to urban demand. On a single recent day, a record £47 million was spent managing this grid incapacity
Energy analysts suggest ministers may now legally deprioritize or delay wind projects in areas where grid infrastructure upgrades are lagging, particularly Scottish offshore arrays, in favor of projects with later delivery dates. https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/clean-energy-projects-that-push-up-bills-via-wasted-wind-face-veto-jx8gll3xq?fbclid=IwY2xjawVSkBhleHRuA2FlbQMxMDAAcGRvZgFzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEfI-3woYt5zvYcl3–9UHYsXF-uNyS1K2AYIMXFWNADus93Gk__EvSCLB-SeM_aem_-rB1ze1iD19W8_s80i4GNg
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