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Oral question asked in the House of Lords, by Lord Trefgarne (Conservative). It was answered by Baroness Verma (Conservative) on Wednesday, 10 October 2012.


Energy: Hydropower

Question

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate of the cost per kilowatt-hour (before subsidy) of generating electricity by hydropower; and how many sites within the United Kingdom have been authorised for this purpose.

Answer

My Lords, government records indicate that around 625 sites are currently operating in the UK. For large-scale installations over 5 megawatt capacity, the central estimate for standard run-off river hydro plants is 12.8 pence per kilowatt-hour. There are currently no published cost estimates for smaller hydro plants under 5 megawatts, but we expect to publish generation costs later this year for a range of renewable technologies drawing on evidence used in the renewables obligation and feed-in tariff.


Secondary information

Type
Oral question
Reference
739 cc1016-8 
Session
2012-13
Oral question type
Lead
Chamber / Committee
House of Lords chamber
Subjects
Hydroelectric power
Link
View this Oral question on www.publications.parliament.uk