Asked by: Lord Wallace of Saltaire (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to support further micro-hydropower schemes on rivers within the UK as part of a transition to renewable energy.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Meeting net zero is likely to lead to electricity demand doubling by 2050 as other sectors are electrified which will require a generation mix based primarily on renewables. The government acknowledges the valuable contribution of hydropower to the UK energy mix over many decades, including at times when other renewables do not generate. Most hydro capacity was installed during the last century in Scotland, with a smaller amount in Wales and England. Most of these installations are still operating.
Government schemes have supported hydro over many years. Hydro is a mature technology and sites for large projects have generally been exhausted, leaving only smaller schemes to be developed. It should be noted that projections from the comprehensive review for small hydro deployment were met five years early. Introduced last year, the Smart Export Guarantee gives small scale low-carbon electricity generators, such as hydro, the right to be paid for the renewable electricity they export to the grid.
Asked by: Lord Wallace of Saltaire (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what studies they have commissioned on the potential contribution that the harnessing of hydropower from rivers may make to the UK's energy requirements.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Hydropower accounts for almost 2% of total electricity generation in the UK with a capacity of almost 2GW. Studies in Scotland, England and Wales indicate that there is a maximum remaining technical potential of around 1.5GW for small-scale hydro across these countries, with the majority in Scotland. Economic and environmental constraints mean that in practice the viable remaining resource is less than 1GW or 1% of total electricity generation capacity.