Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate his Department has made of the amount of sustainable, renewable energy which can be generated from a water mill.

The level of electricity generation is dependent on the flow rate of the water and the difference in elevation between the intake and the outlet. Capacities for run of river plants tend to be below 2 Megawatts and more typically below 500 Kilowatts. Current UK hydro capacity is estimated at 1,750 Megawatts with further potential of around 1,000 Megawatts, mostly at small scale in remote locations.