Monday 20 June 2011

Constraint payments, the latest "set aside" to stop farms from producing anything

We all know about farmers being paid NOT to grow crops. "Set Aside" payments have been around for years. We might question the value of set aside in these days of rising food prices but now there is a another form of "set aside" available to struggling farmers.

This time farmers are being given "constraint payments"

These payments do not give farmers money NOT to produce food stuffs. These payments are to Wind Farmers and the crop they are being paid NOT to produce is electricity.

We really are seeing the economics of the mad house with wind turbines!

According to a written answer to a question in May this year from Labour MP Gordon Banks (Ochil and South Perthshire), the "constraint payments" made to Scottish wind farms over the last two financial years are as follows:

Beinn Tharsuinn Wind Farm,
operator Scottish Power,
payments received £31,950.00

Black Law Wind Farm,
operator Scottish Power,
payments received £134,960.24

Whitelee Wind Farm,
operator Scottish Power,
payments received £466,396.47

Farr Wind Farm,
operator RWE Power Renewables,
payments received £263,484.11

Hadyard Hill Wind Farm,
operator Scottish and Southern,
payments received £152,698.51

Millennium Wind Farm,
operator Flack Renewables,
payments received £32,533.80

According to National Grid estimates, by 2020 wind farmers will be receiving £300 Million a year to STOP the turbines from turning.


PS I don't want to say "I told you so" but here is a post I made on this very subject back in 2007!

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