FAQs - Hydro electric projects
Q. We have three significant mountain ranges in Britain, in North and Central Wales, The Pennines and the Scottish Highlands. All have significant rainfall.
If we are serious about reducing emissions nationally why haven't we invested in massive scale hydro electric projects ?
Surely the heavy investment needed would pay for itself. Just look at the Hoover Dam in the US which I understand provides power and water to around 17 million people.
A. Hydropower was part of the first “renewables revolution” and it is unlikely we will see again the scale of development witnessed within the UK in the 1940s and ‘50s.
Opportunities to deploy hydro technologies in the UK are becoming more limited, not only because most of the economically attractive sites for schemes have already been exploited, but also environmental concerns are limiting the further deployment of this technology. To create a scheme similar to the Hoover Dam would be far more negative to the environment and would be far too costly than would be acceptable. (For reference, Lake Mead, the lake formed as a result of the construction of the Hoover Dam, extends 110 miles behind the dam, holding approximately 35 km³ of water).
There is evidence however that new hydro and refurbished older hydro stations are coming online with government support from the Renewables Obligation (RO).
The RO is the primary support mechanism for renewable energy. Electricity supply companies are required to source a percentage of their electricity sales from eligible renewable generation. Eligible renewable generators, which include all small scale hydro generators, are entitled to receive Renewables Obligation Certificates (ROCs) for each Megawatt hour (MWh) of electricity generated. These certificates can then be sold to suppliers, in order for them to fulfil their obligation.
An example of where the RO has helped bring on new hydro generation is with the construction, by Scottish and Southern Electricity, of a 100Megawatt hydropower station at Glendoe in Scotland. This is due to come online at the end of 2008 and will be the UK’s largest hydropower station for more than 50 years.
Page last modified:
22 February 2008
Page published: 22 February 2008