EDF boss calls for fewer wind farms in UK energy debate
Fishing News|Tim Oliver|Jun 26, 2026
EDF Energy's CEO, Simone Rossi, argues that the UK should halt the expansion of wind farms as electricity supply exceeds demand, a situation exacerbated by a 20% drop in demand over two decades. Rossi suggests focusing on boosting electricity demand through measures like promoting electric vehicles and heat pumps, rather than increasing generation capacity. His stance is supported by industry leaders who note the financial inefficiency of paying wind farms to shut down when the grid can't handle excess electricity.
EDF Energy's CEO, Simone Rossi, argues that the UK should halt the expansion of wind farms as electricity supply exceeds demand, a situation exacerbated by a 20% drop in demand over two decades. Rossi suggests focusing on boosting electricity demand through measures like promoting electric vehicles and heat pumps, rather than increasing generation capacity. His stance is supported by industry leaders who note the financial inefficiency of paying wind farms to shut down when the grid can't handle excess electricity.
Mike Cohen calls for an “honest conversation” about UK wind farm expansion and electricity demand.
Energy leader says UK electricity supply is outstripping demand and urges pause on wind farm expansion
Industry leaders calling for a halt to offshore wind farm expansion have welcomed comments from EDF Energy’s chief executive, who says the UK is producing more electricity than it can use.
Simone Rossi, chief executive of EDF Energy, said UK electricity demand has fallen by 20% over the past two decades. At the same time, the rapid expansion of wind farms and solar energy is creating more electricity generation capacity than needed.
He told The Telegraph: “We should stop building wind farms and focus instead on increasing demand for …
... more [truncated due to possible copyright]Mike Cohen calls for an “honest conversation” about UK wind farm expansion and electricity demand.
Energy leader says UK electricity supply is outstripping demand and urges pause on wind farm expansion
Industry leaders calling for a halt to offshore wind farm expansion have welcomed comments from EDF Energy’s chief executive, who says the UK is producing more electricity than it can use.
Simone Rossi, chief executive of EDF Energy, said UK electricity demand has fallen by 20% over the past two decades. At the same time, the rapid expansion of wind farms and solar energy is creating more electricity generation capacity than needed.
He told The Telegraph: “We should stop building wind farms and focus instead on increasing demand for electricity. The UK does not need more electricity generation capacity. We need to use the capacity we already have.”
Rossi explained that energy demand was once expected to rise steadily. However, demand has instead declined, leaving the UK with a large electricity infrastructure producing more power than required. As a result, the transmission grid must expand significantly to manage excess supply.
Key question
“These are all fixed costs,” he said. “The key question is how we absorb those costs. The time has come to shift the debate away from building more infrastructure and pause expansion for the foreseeable future.”
Many offshore wind farms are located in remote areas, which require new cables to connect to the national grid. However, grid development has not kept pace with wind farm growth. As a result, turbines are sometimes switched off when the grid cannot handle excess electricity.
In these cases, wind farm operators receive government-funded ‘curtailment payments’ to compensate for lost generation. According to The Telegraph, £1.4bn of taxpayers’ money was spent on these payments last year, with almost £800m already spent this year.
Rossi also called for faster adoption of electric vehicles, heat pumps and data centres to increase electricity demand and make use of surplus energy.
‘Rossi’s comments support calls’
Elspeth Macdonald, chief executive of the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation (SFF), said Rossi’s comments support calls to halt offshore wind farm expansion.
“We agree that we do not need this scale of wind farm development,” she told Fishing News. “Plans for Scottish waters far exceed what is required to meet energy demand.
“This is a senior energy industry figure confirming there is too much capacity, and that we are paying operators to switch turbines off.”
Mike Cohen, chief executive of the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations (NFFO), also said the UK does not need additional electricity generation.
“It is significant to hear a major energy company leader say what many in the fishing industry have argued for years,” he said.
“There is a clear mismatch between offshore wind expansion and actual UK electricity demand. Developers continue to push for new projects, despite existing capacity already exceeding government estimates.”
Cohen added that the Crown Estate reports 95GW of offshore wind power is installed or in development. Plans to lease a further 30GW by the end of the decade, alongside additional Scottish projects, could increase capacity even more.
“Even without nuclear, solar and onshore wind developments, this already exceeds projected demand,” he said. “These projects are backed by billions in public funding, while generating significant profits for overseas developers.”