TRUE OR FALSE. Do wind turbines in Scotland run on diesel, as Internet users claim?

On This is false, this is information taken out of context. This information has been recurring regularly, in waves, for a year.

Do wind turbines run on diesel? This is what Internet users on X assure. “Wind turbines also run on diesel, scandal breaks out in Scotland”, can we read in recent days. It’s a “big scam”, another is alarmed. “In France too, they run on diesel”, assure other cybernauts. True or false ?

71 wind turbines connected to a generator for a “short period” due to a breakdown

This is false, this information is taken out of context. Internet users share the post from an account called Wide Awake Media, which itself relays the video from the Straight Arrow News site. This American media outlet cites in its report the investigation by a Scottish newspaper, SundayMail. By reading the investigation in its entirety, published in February 2023, we learn that 71 wind turbines in Scotland suffered a breakdown, a “external fault on the British network”, according to the Scottish electricity company Scottish Power. However, this incident occurred during a period of extreme cold, in December 2022. To prevent the turbines from freezing, the wind turbines were therefore connected to generators, running on diesel, “up to 6 hours a day”. The objective was to keep the turbines warm. Scottish Power, assures us that it only lasted one “short period”.

Wind turbines therefore do not run on diesel. Diesel is not used to produce electricity. This was a special situation, due to a breakdown, to prevent the wind turbines from seizing up in the cold.

A news story that comes up regularly

Wind turbines, like other infrastructures of this type, also have emergency generators. These generators can be used in the event of a breakdown, for the risk of freezing but also, for example, to allow agents to take the elevator and climb to the top of the wind turbine, if there is an urgent repair to be made at the time. of the breakdown. As their name suggests, these generators remain emergency tools.

This infox comes up regularly on social networks, since the publication of the investigation of the SundayMail. This time it’s the Wide Awake Media account – “woke media” in French – which relaunched it. This account regularly shares climate-sceptical content on By looking quickly, Internet users can be fooled. The post has been viewed nearly 400,000 times and shared more than 4,000 times.