> When solar OVERproduces you have to literally pay someone to consume that energy, most probably wind farms, which could be producing energy instead.

You don't have to do this with solar, you can just disconnect the panel and have it go a bit hotter. For producers that have a long-ish bringup time, yes, you might need to do this at time.

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pjc50 11 hours ago | parent [-]

The situation is slightly complicated by dispatch order, and domestic solar isn't usually dispatchable at all. Grid-scale farms are.

Wind farms don't consume energy, but there is a real issue with how often they have to be "curtailed" (paid to turn off). That is to a great extent due to issues with grid connectivity between Scotland and the rest of the UK, which are (slowly) being worked on.

	▲	leonidasrup 3 hours ago \| parent \| next [-]
		Wind curtailment is the deliberate reduction of electricity output from wind turbines, despite their capability to generate power under existing wind conditions. This practice is typically implemented by grid operators to maintain the stability of the electrical grid or to address specific operational constraints. https://www.enlitia.com/resources-blog-post/what-is-wind-cur... "paid to turn off" Wind energy providers in some countries are compensated for curtailment, this a form of subsidy for renewables. It can be payed directly by the goverment, or it is added to the price of electricity for consumer. https://www.cleanenergywire.org/news/renewable-curtailment-c...
	▲	RealityVoid 7 hours ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		My understanding is that all inverters sold at this moment, in the EU, need to have demand response and grid curtailment mechanisms by law.