Energy Insight 1:
What Curtailment Means
Curtailment is when renewable electricity is available but cannot be used. Wind farms are asked to reduce output because the system cannot absorb the energy. This happens when demand is low, transmission is constrained, storage is insufficient, or fossil generation cannot ramp down quickly enough.
Curtailment is not a failure of renewables. It is a sign that the system around them has not yet been modernised.