Built to fail: the silent crisis in green infrastructure
Guest articles
25 Apr 2025
Written By Neil Probert
Over the past decade, the UK has seen a rapid deployment of renewable energy sites. Solar and wind farms are being rolled out at scale and, on the surface, it’s a clean, green revolution. But step behind the glossy headlines and you’ll find an uncomfortable truth: the power infrastructure supporting these sites is being built to a dangerously low standard.
This isn’t just about cutting corners – it’s about systemic failure in how we treat the backbone of renewable power delivery.
Real failures, real fast
At Johnson & Phillips, the power engineering firm where I am project lead, we’ve recently replaced four transformers across different solar sites – none older than five years. We’ve also had to rebuild switchboards that suffered flashovers – a short circuit in layman’s terms – due to basic design flaws. These weren’t isolated incidents. They’re becoming common.
Each case ties back to the same root cause: sites that were engineered to meet deadlines and financial models, not long-term operational resilience.
Why are they failing?
https://www.netzerowatch.com/all-news/built-to-fail-the-silent-crisis-in-green-infrastructure
