The good news is that the diesel
generators are made by Volkswagen.
They would also emit a significant amount of nitrous oxide, though the exact figure is unknown. As a comparison, 1.5GW of power is equivalent to that used by 24,000 Volkswagen Golfs
The subsidies on offer are so appealing that even solar-power developers, which have recently had their own subsidies cut, are building diesel generation on their sites as a way of maximising their returns
Ed Davey, the former energy secretary who set up the scheme, known as the “capacity market auctionâ€, said the problem arose because of EU rules that forbid discriminating against any one type of generation.