Hydroelectricity in the United Kingdom

[6] 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 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.

[5][6] However, during the same period there have been significant reductions in costs of other renewable energy sources such as Offshore Wind and Photovoltaics,[7] this has resulted in reduced competitiveness of large scale Hydroelectric schemes in the UK.

The UK Government's National Renewable Energy Action Plan of July 2010 envisaged between 40 and 50 MW of new hydropower schemes being installed annually up to 2020.

The most recent feedback for new hydro schemes is for 2009, and only about 15 MW of new hydropower was installed during that year.