Dorenell wind farm in Moray to pay back over £5.5 million after breach of licence conditions
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A WIND farm in Moray will pay back over £5.5 million after it was found to have charged "excessive prices" for a subsidy.
Wind farms can be paid to turn turbines off if the National Grid is too full to take on any more power.
But regulators found that Dorenell Windfarm Limited (DWL), a subsidiary of energy company EDF, overcharged the grid to reduce its output and, in turn, push up costs for consumers.
The Dorenell wind farm has 59 wind turbines and is located just off the A941 a few miles south of Dufftown.
DWL accepted that it breached one of its licence conditions but added that it was an "unintentional breach".
It will pay £5.53 million into Ofgem's Redress Fund which supports energy consumers in vulnerable situations.
Cathryn Scott, director of enforcement for Ofgem, said: "Another win for customers through Ofgem’s robust enforcement work has been secured.
"This company has accepted its error and has agreed to make a significant payment to put it right.
"Customers – particularly those in vulnerable situations – will rightly benefit from over £5 million as a direct result.
"We hope this sends a clear message that licence breaches will simply not be tolerated."
Since 2020, DWL has regularly been required to reduce its output due to the physical limits of the transmission system.
Market rules prohibit generators from charging excessive prices in such circumstances, helping to keep consumer bills down.
But following its breach, DWL says that it has changed its policy to avoid future breaches.
A spokesperson for DWL said: “Dorenell Windfarm Limited takes compliance seriously and aims to comply with regulations at all times.
"DWL reviews its practices regularly and adapts as necessary. At all times throughout this review DWL has engaged actively with Ofgem and cooperated fully to resolve the issue.
“DWL accepts it made an unintentional breach of the Transmission Constraint Licence Condition (TCLC).
"As a result, DWL has changed its bid pricing policy to avoid any future breaches."
Ofgem says the matter has now been closed without the need for a full investigation.
