hydroelectric power Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined an ...

stations in the United Kingdom accounted for 1.87GW of installed electrical generating capacity, being 2.2% of the UK's total generating capacity and 4.2% of UK's renewable energy generating capacity. This includes four conventional hydroelectric power stations and

run-of-river Run-of-river hydroelectricity (ROR) or run-of-the-river hydroelectricity is a type of hydroelectric generation plant whereby little or no water storage is provided. Run-of-the-river power plants may have no water storage at all or a limited amo ...

schemes for which annual electricity production is approximately 5,000 GWh, being about 1.3% of the UK's total electricity production. There are also

pumped-storage Pumped-storage hydroelectricity (PSH), or pumped hydroelectric energy storage (PHES), is a type of hydroelectric energy storage used by electric power systems for load balancing. The method stores energy in the form of gravitational potential ...

hydroelectric power stations providing a further 2.8GW of installed electrical generating capacity, and contributing up to 4,075GWh of peak demand electricity annually. The potential for further practical and viable hydroelectricity power stations in the UK is estimated to be in the region of 146 to 248MW for England and Wales, and up to 2,593MW for Scotland. Interest in hydropower in the UK rose in the early 2010s due to UK and EU targets for reductions in carbon emissions and the promotion of

renewable energy Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources that are naturally replenished on a human timescale. It includes sources such as sunlight, wind, the movement of water, and geothermal heat. Although most renewable energy ...

power generation through commercial incentives such as the Renewable Obligation Certificate scheme (ROCs) and feed-in tariffs (FITs). Before such schemes, studies to assess the available hydro resources in the UK had discounted many sites for reasons of poor economic or technological viability, but studies in 2008 and 2010 by the British Hydro Association (BHA) identified a larger number of viable sites, due to improvements in the available technology and the economics of ROCs and FITSs. However, during the same period there have been significant reductions in costs of other renewable energy sources such as Offshore Wind and Photovoltaics, this has resulted in reduced competitiveness of large scale Hydroelectric schemes in the UK. There are no large scale Hydroelectric scheme planned in the UK as of 2020. However, it is predicted that pumped storage will play an increasingly important role in the UK electricity grid in future years as more intermittent sources of electricity generation come on line. Schemes up to 50kW are eligible for FITs, and schemes over 5MW are eligible for ROCs. Schemes between 50kW and 5MW can choose between either. The UK Government's National Renewable Energy Action Plan of July 2010 envisaged between 40 and 50MW of new hydropower schemes being installed annually up to 2020. The most recent feedback for new hydro schemes is for 2009, and only about 15MW of new hydropower was installed during that year.

Statistics for UK hydroelectric schemes

File:UK hydro elec supplied.PNG, United Kingdom gross electricity supplied from Hydro between 1920 and 2012 (GWh), including for pumped-storage schemes. File:UK hydro elec generated.PNG, United Kingdom annual electricity generation from hydroelectricity between 1990 and 2012 (GW hours), excluding pumped-storage schemes. File:UK hydro net declared capacity.PNG, United Kingdom net installed hydroelectricity capacity between 1990 and 2012 (MW), excluding pumped-storage schemes.

List of UK hydroelectric schemes over 1 megaWatt

References

External links

British Hydropower AssociationInternational Hydropower AssociationHydropower Reform CoalitionInteractive demonstration on the effects of dams on riversEuropean Small Hydropower Association

Scottish Hydro Electric Scottish Hydro plc was a public electricity supplier formed on 1 August 1989 after a change of name from North of Scotland Electricity plc on that date. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index ...

{{Europe topic, Hydroelectricity in Electric power generation in the United Kingdom

Statistics for UK hydroelectric schemes

List of UK hydroelectric schemes over 1 megaWatt

See also

References

External links