Environment Agency publishes Entec-penned hydropower report

A technical report produced by Entec has contributed to an Environment Agency review of the potential for increasing the use of hydropower in England and Wales, taking into account environmental sensitivities and practical constraints.

The Agency's review concludes that with the UK government's new feed-in tariff for renewably-generated electricity, hydropower "could become an attractive income generator for hydropower developers, if environmental safeguards are met". The report recommends that fish-friendly design need to be incorporated in all schemes and that grants for fish passes could help to unlock the potential of small scale hydropower.

The project identified around 4,000 sites, mostly along rivers Severn, Thames, Aire and Neath, where sensitively-designed schemes incorporating fish passes could protect the local environment as well as generate electricity.

• Environment Agency news release
• hydropower webpages
• technical report
• Entec news release