British solar farms have been paid to switch off for the first time as sunny days prompt a surge of clean power that could overwhelm the grid.

The National Energy System Operator (Neso), which manages the UK’s power grids and is overseen by Ed Miliband, the Energy Secretary, has issued switch-off orders to solar facilities this year, new research reveals.

Operators are paid to switch off when these orders are issued, with the extra cost added to consumer and business energy bills.

The solar operators claiming compensation are understood to include some of the UK’s biggest energy suppliers, such as EDF Renewables and Octopus Energy.

Such “constraint payments” are already common with wind farms because so many have been built in areas such as northern Scotland or offshore, areas without grid capacity to carry the power they generate.

So far this year, constraint payments have cost consumers £650m, according to the Wasted Wind website. The cost is added to energy bills.

Overall “balancing payments” could hit £8bn a year by 2030 without massive grid upgrades, according to Neso estimates. Such upgrades would also be extremely costly, with consumers liable.

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