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Miliband Plots Surge in Wind Farm Subsidies to Rescue Net Zero

by Richard Eldred
11 May 2025 11:00 AM

Ed Miliband is quietly plotting a massive wind farm subsidy surge that could send household energy bills soaring in a bid to salvage his Net Zero ambitions. The Telegraph has the story.

The Energy Secretary is preparing to ditch key limits on the cash diverted from bills to turbine developers, the Telegraph can reveal.

The manoeuvre, uncovered in official documents, is expected to allow Mr Miliband to bankroll thousands of extra turbines in the next few years.

He has pledged to make Britain’s electricity supply 95% carbon-free by that date. The target has been attacked as a “fantasy” by the Conservatives, partly because there are too few offshore wind projects in the pipeline.

That problem was exacerbated last week with Ørsted’s decision to abandon its massive Hornsea 4 scheme to build 180 giant turbines off Yorkshire, giving 2.4 gigawatts (GW) of new capacity – enough for 2.6 million homes on a windy day.

To accelerate wind farm construction, Mr Miliband wants to scrap limits on the total subsidy on offer to offshore developers in Whitehall auctions.

Instead a target would be set for the amount of electricity to be generated, with the cost to households only worked out afterwards.

A Whitehall insider agreed costs could rise initially, suggesting that the investment in renewables now would bring prices down in years to come.

“It means short-term pain in energy bills, for long-term gain,” he said.

The scheme was revealed in a paper from Mr Miliband’s Department of Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ). “In place of a budget, the Government would publish a capacity ambition,” it said.

Mr Miliband wants between 43GW and 50GW of offshore wind by 2030. Only 16GW is operational so far, with another 12.6GW in planning. That leaves a shortfall of about 15GW just to hit the minimum, which would broadly mean adding an extra 1,500 giant 10-megawatt turbines to the 1,500 already planned.

These must all be commissioned in the next couple of years to be working by 2030 – but developers are demanding extra subsidies to undertake the massive challenge.

Worth reading in full.

Tags: Climate changeDepartment of Energy & Climate ChangeEd MilibandEnergy BillsNet ZeroWind Farms

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31 Comments
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Cotfordtags
Cotfordtags
2 months ago

I am sure that there is a Don Quixote joke here somewhere about a Fool tilting at windmills, if it weren’t for the whole tragic situation of a madman single handedly destroying perfectly good electricity production and the British economy to achieve his fantasy.

12
0
kev
kev
2 months ago
Reply to  Cotfordtags

Everyone should send the idiot a copy of the book, but I suspect Irony would be lost on such a single-minded imbecile.

He is going to make Net Zero work by 2030, by pure of force of will.

Hopefully 2-Tier has a cabinet reshuffle quite soon and reassigns him – preferably to the back benches so he cant cause mayhem in any other department.

God forbid he replaces Rachel from accounts! Then we would be totally screwed!

0
0
Art Simtotic
Art Simtotic
2 months ago

Corrected headline:

Deranged Energy Insecurity Kommissar Plots Surge in Wind Farm Subsidies to Unbalance and Completely Eff Up the Electricity Grid.

Last edited 2 months ago by Art Simtotic
15
0
Purpleone
Purpleone
2 months ago
Reply to  Art Simtotic

You could almost replace the word subsidies with ‘bribes’ – it’s basically what he’s trying to do

4
0
DickieA
DickieA
2 months ago
Reply to  Art Simtotic

Just had a couple of gins and it got me thinking… If a political party came out and said that if they were elected all new wind farm contracts signed from today’s date would be instantly revoked and renegotiated (at the same rates that electricity costs from gas power stations) – that would kill dead any new investment in wind farms, restore sanity and screw over Mad Ed. Win win.

What are you waiting for, Nige?

Last edited 2 months ago by DickieA
5
0
JXB
JXB
2 months ago

Company managers do eye the long term and the return on investment. Wind installations are capital intensive.

It is clear that as fossil fuel generation is withdrawn (that’s the plan) the intermittency problem will increase and as more wind is built the glut at times of optimum wind conditions will grow.

The net effect will be electricity rationing, and a drop-off of use as industry shuts down or lives out, therefore diminishing revenues.

Plus: the general rule is as prices of something go up, less of it is bought. Not only will prices go up because of the increasing subsidies, but also all the expensive (and futile) attempts to address the insoluble intermittency problem with hugely expensive projects like battery storage, flywheels and “green” hydrogen.

And. A Reform UK Government in 2029 – if not before – is now likely. Even if it is a coalition with the Conservatives (doubtful), it bodes ill for the fortunes of the wind/solar grift industry.

Investing in a diminishing market with the real possibility of being shut down is not an attractive proposition. In the US most wind projects have been cancelled due to the Trump effect.

There is an additional factor. Already off-shore wind projects have been delayed because of the unavailability of ships, construction resources and materials.

Mad Ed, like all politicians, does not understand that what he might want is not shared by others or because of practical constraints not going to happen. Like his insistance everyone buys BEVs.

He may not survive much longer in post.

15
0
Marque1
Marque1
2 months ago
Reply to  JXB

I hope he does not survive much longer.

14
0
Hardliner
Hardliner
2 months ago
Reply to  JXB

We need to watch out for Mad Ed replacing the withdrawn hard-nosed business investment with out of control, unaccountable public investment. This is what GB Energy was set up to do – fill the gap with taxpayers money on the excuse that they’ll be investing in a profitable industry. Let’s ignore that profits arise only from being subsidised by electricity consumers and taxpayers.

I presume MadEd has solved the major intermittency problem – wind was producing about 6% of our sparks for a lot of last week, and most people’s heating will be switched off by now. He was relying on those evil petrostates (France, Norway, Holland, USA) to keep our lights on

Ed needs up be put out of our misery

9
0
transmissionofflame
transmissionofflame
2 months ago
Reply to  Hardliner

France is really a nuclear state. They have so much nuclear that they basically always have surplus juice to sell.

5
0
JXB
JXB
2 months ago
Reply to  transmissionofflame

Raising the question – why have they spent hundreds of millions building wind farms and solar?

4
0
transmissionofflame
transmissionofflame
2 months ago
Reply to  JXB

Presumably as a replacement for the gas etc that they use for flexible generation over and above base load. But it is idiotic as wind and solar are unreliable. I guess for now they can always sell it to us as they also have gas and oil.

2
0
soundofreason
soundofreason
2 months ago
Reply to  transmissionofflame

No, no, we’ll only buy their wind and solar generated electricity. They can keep their nuclear and gas generated stuff. Just Green leccy for us!

3
0
transmissionofflame
transmissionofflame
2 months ago
Reply to  soundofreason

Lol

1
0
JXB
JXB
2 months ago

“Instead a target would be set for the amount of electricity to be generated, with the cost to households only worked out afterwards.”

So now Ed thinks he can control the wind.

“A Whitehall insider agreed costs could rise initially, suggesting that the investment in renewables now would bring prices down in years to come.”

We’ve been hearing that for at least 15 years already, so how many more “years to come”? In saecula saeculorum?

Last edited 2 months ago by JXB
12
0
Ardandearg
Ardandearg
2 months ago
Reply to  JXB

Sub specie aeternitatis, all shall be well. However, I think most of would appreciate some earthly comfort while we wait.

2
0
transmissionofflame
transmissionofflame
2 months ago
Reply to  JXB

Ed knows he can’t control the wind, but he thinks he can fool enough people, for a bit longer.

2
0
For a fist full of roubles
For a fist full of roubles
2 months ago

Which day in 2030 does Miliband expect this 95% to happen and how does he know whether it will be windy on that day?

5
0
JXB
JXB
2 months ago
Reply to  For a fist full of roubles

He uses dark forces.

2
0
Arum
Arum
2 months ago

Presumably the aim of all this is to reverse global warming (or whatever it is currently called), so why don’t they base the subsidy on ‘degrees global temperature is reduced by’

5
0
Lockdown Sceptic
Lockdown Sceptic
2 months ago

Net Zero’s Bankrupt Delusions

5
0
Jack the dog
Jack the dog
2 months ago

So, as we cynical beggars expected, his reaction to the orsted cancellation was to increase subsidies and double down on his failed policy.

8
0
Hester
Hester
2 months ago

What is he getting out of this? find the answer to that and that will stop it.

3
0
Tyrbiter
Tyrbiter
2 months ago
Reply to  Hester

I saw somewhere that he had an income of 90 million plus last year (not sure of currency units). One has to ask how that can be legit.

3
0
huxleypiggles
huxleypiggles
2 months ago

I am no longer even slightly convinced that Nut Zero is in any way remotely connected 😀 to saving the planet. Milliband is a completely deranged idiot no question but his zealatory is genuine although not in the way portrayed. There are beyond question senior paymasters above Millibrain governing this push for carbon free by 2030 but what is their real purpose?

Is the push seriously intended to lead to a basket-case of a country by 2030, a totally dysfunctional, failed state existing Mad Max style beyond the reach of civilisation? Whoever is pushing Milli their agenda is clear to them and I am sure clear to Milli but it is not anything to which we are a party. We are being dragged towards a civil war at the very least because when people cannot afford to eat, heat or travel society will unravel faster than Kneel’s promise to “smash the gangs.”

Nut Zero is real alright but it is actually covering for something far more sinister.

5
0
SimCS
SimCS
2 months ago

He’s demonstrably insane, repeating the same action hoping for a different result. In his madness, he just doesn’t have the awareness to know when to stop.

3
0
john1T
john1T
2 months ago

Expensive, unreliable electricity, and deindustrialisation is the plan. Miliwatt might look insane, but he’s following his orders to the letter.

5
0
Gezza England
Gezza England
2 months ago
Reply to  john1T

The underlying problem is that you cannot grow an economy and have Net Zero. Rachel from Accounts and the droning PM keep telling us they are going to get the country growing but there won’t be any if energy costs remain the highest in the world.

5
0
Gezza England
Gezza England
2 months ago

Simple question for the retard Ed – where are the ships to lay the offshore cables coming from given that none are available until after 2030?

3
0
mrbu
mrbu
2 months ago

“Short term pain for long term gain?”
No! It will be short term pain for long term pain. This money will be ploughed into the creation of a less resilient power grid, laying us open to an increased likelihood of blackouts like the recent one on the Iberian peninsula, as discussed elsewhere on DS. It’s just another example of government using people’s hard-earned cash to reduce their standard of living. And the most incredible thing is that the electorate facilitated this at the last election.

2
0
happycake78
happycake78
2 months ago

He will leave a massive amount of destruction in his wake.

1
0
RTSC
RTSC
2 months ago

Gosh, this “free” energy is proving to be really, really expensive.

1
0

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