Hydropower 'will treble by 2020'

The number of hydropower facilities will treble in ten years, it has been suggested.

At a conference last week, chairman of the Environment Agency Chris Smith commented on Britain's use of water as a renewable energy source.

He said: "Hydropower is a great example of a natural resource which produces few wastes. It's a reliable and proven technology and it is increasingly attractive to local communities."

In his speech, Mr Smith went on to suggest that the number of hydropower production stations in Britain will rise from 400 in 2010 to 1,200 in 2020.

Supporting the use of hydropower as a reliable source of energy, the agency confirmed that it has approved 29 hydropower generation licences this year.

It also confirmed that in 2009, it had found 4,000 locations in the UK where these plants could be built.

Earlier this week, wave energy company Aquamarine Power announced it had received £6 million to help develop its new Oyster 2 hydro-electric power system, which it claims will deliver 250 per cent more energy than the Oyster 1 device.

Posted by Claire Manning