British Waterways to Develop 25 Small Hydropower Projects

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--In March, British Waterways (Watford, England) and the Small Hydro Company (Oxfordshire, England) announced plans to develop 25 small-scale hydropower projects on the banks of British Waterways' 2,200-mile waterway network. The company plans to invest £120 million ($194 million) over a period of three years for this initiative. Once fully operational, the hydropower projects will generate 210,000 megawatt-hours per year and prevent an estimated 110,000 tons per year of greenhouse gas emissions. About 150 jobs are expected to be created during the construction of these projects.

The project will be supported by the Ventus Fund, which is promoted by Climate Change Capital (London, England). Approvals for the first five projects are expected shortly. These projects will involve construction near river weirs.

British Waterways is a public enterprise, responsible for operation and maintenance of the U.K.'s 2,200-mile network of rivers, canals, docks and reservoirs. Small Hydro was established in 2007 by a group of engineering professionals to develop small and cost-effective hydropower projects in the country. Ventus is one of the largest funds in the U.K. committed to the development of renewable energy projects.

The first two hydropower projects will be located on the Severn and Trent rivers. The other locations identified are the Ouse, Don and Aire rivers in Yorkshire. The first project is expected to begin operating in 2010. British Waterways has indicated that the development of hydropower facilities will not impact navigation, transport, or marine life. Revenues from the hydropower plants will help maintain historic waterway sites in the country.

Last year, the company announced the intention to build wind turbines with a total generating capacity of 100 megawatts (MW). The project, which is expected to power about 45,000 homes, was announced in association with Partnership for Renewables (PFR) (London). PFR is 51% owned by the Carbon Trust (London), while HSBC Holdings plc (NYSE:HBC) (London) holds the remainder. PFR has set a target of generating 500 MW from renewable energy sources in the next five to eight years. In 2008, the UK's total installed wind power generating capacity was 3,331 MW.

The government has also introduced the system of feed-in tariffs to encourage households and industrial consumers to shift to renewable energy. The proposal includes payment of a fixed amount for every kilowatt-hour (kWh) of power generated by a household. This is referred to as the Generation Tariff. The Export Tariff guarantees a minimum tariff for every surplus kWh that is supplied by a household to the electricity grid. The Export Tariff will be 5p ($0.08) per kWh delivered to the grid. Incentives will be provided for the installation of power-generating units. Owners will be encouraged to earn more by reducing consumption and transferring excess power to the grid. The scheme, which will be effective from 2010, aims to generate 2% of the total power supply from small-scale renewable sources by 2020.

According to the "Consultation of Renewable Energy Financial Incentives, 2009," published by the Department of Energy and Climate Change, a renewable energy generation target of 30% has been set for this fiscal year, which includes 28% to 29% from industrial installations and 1% to 2% from households. About 12% of heating will be generated from this source, while 10% of transportation fuel will be contributed by biofuels.

According to industry reports, the global installed hydropower capacity is expected to reach 945,800 MW by 2015. Currently, this renewable source accounts for about 16% of global power production, and the Asia-Pacific area is the fastest-growing region for the development of hydro projects. Experts have observed that there is abundant untapped potential in Nepal, China, Brazil, Russia, India and Turkey.

The U.K. has renewed focus on developing the country's renewable energy portfolio after the European Union issued the renewable energy target directive. The directive aims to achieve at least 25% of the E.U.'s power consumption by 2020 from renewable sources. The U.K.'s share of this target is 15% of electricity from alternate energy sources by 2020. The U.K. has also set a goal of reducing 80% of the country's carbon dioxide emissions by 2050.

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