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In the United Kingdom, several potential small-scale hydropower spots have been identified in Welsh and English’s rivers. If some of the spots were used than it would be sufficient to generate power for 850,000 households.

The Environment Agency Study (EA) says that setting up thousands of small-scale hydro power plants would be enough to supply 1.5 percent of the demand for electricity in the UK or in other words, sufficient for 850,000 homes.

There were nearly 26,000 hotspots identified along English and Welsh’s rivers. Turbines could be installed at each of these regions to generate electricity through water. However, to avoid damage to the natural environment all the 26,000 hotspot cannot be used. Only areas where there is easy access to the local electricity grid could be used.

Half of the spot could also not be used for the sake of preserving fish habitat. Installing turbines could be damaging while the turbine’s spins, it could practically kill fishes. Sensible environment factors limit the potentials of hydro-electricity.

There are, however, many spots very man has already interfered with the environment according to EA. New sensitive schemes could be adopted to protect the environment and to install hydropower. The construction could be built in a way allowing fish such as salmon to navigate around the turbines. This would provide at least 4000 hotspots where both the local environment and local electricity would be winners.

The best places are along rivers like Neath, Thames, Severn and Aire. The establishment of small-scale hydropower is also supported through government grants and subsidies. This will definitely make green technology such as hydropower much more lucrative.

A new feed-in-tariff for small scale electricity projects is about to emerge in the beginning of April. Establishing medium size projects with an expenditure of £100,000 to £150,000 could likely benefit from a subside of £25,000 as per Environment Agency calculations.

Tony Grayling, who is the head of climate change and sustainable development at the Environment Agency, says that hydropower is a low-carbon source of energy and can have positive effect on wildlife by allowing fish migration. Yet, there are some sites where the risks of harm to the environment are stronger than the benefits.

However, small-scale hydroelectric plants are less harmful to the environment than large-scale projects and are likely to grow in importance for the future. This is why the government is issuing subsidies for small-scale renewable projects in UK.

However, Paul Knight, chief executive of the Salmon and Trout Association says that these small-scale hydropower systems must be designed appropriately. Poorly constructed hydropower system could be devastating to fish in the surroundings.

Source: Guardian.co.uk

Reference: Environment Agency