UK Hydropower Resource Assessment 2022

This report brings together data from various sources of the installed capacity and location of hydropower installations in the UK and compares these against the values forecast in previous reports. This has been complemented by a survey of British Hydropower Association members and invited non-British Hydropower Association members to consider the appetite for further investment in hydropower and the hurdles faced by the sector.

The report’s aim is to provide an evidenced assessment of the potential of additional hydropower generation as part of a portfolio of low carbon electrical generation technologies to support the UK’s target of net-zero. As with all renewable generation technologies, the answer of how much of the resource can be captured and at what cost and within environmental constraints is a complex area dependent on many factors.

The report proposes an additional deployment of 1000 MW (1 GW) as an achievable target under a supportive policy framework. This would allow hydropower generation of circa 3 GW (a 1 GW addition to the installed base of circa 2 GW in 2022) that could provide an estimated 1.5 % of the increased annual electrical demand of the UK in its net-zero future.