Micro-hydro turbines generate renewable electricity from water. Energy in water at height (high head hydro) or water falling at least one metre (run of the river hydro) rotates turbines to generate electricity. The water may have to be extracted from a river or directed to a inlet on an existing weir to pass through the turbine. Hydropower schemes can include diversion of water through pipes or by-pass channels for several hundred metres. Electricity is generated in a powerhouse from which it is then connected to the Grid or to local users such as a mill, dwellings or commercial premises.
Weirs and redundant mills are often utilised for hydropower schemes. Installations need to prevent damage to local fish stocks and will normally include protective screens and the addition of a new or upgraded fish pass.
Turbines can only generate energy when there is sufficient water in the river. The Environment Agency (for England and Wales) and its equivalent in Soctland (SEPA) and in Northern Ireland considers applications for hydropower schemes and will need to be satisfied that effective measures are included to protect the local environment before issuing the necessary permits. The aim of environmentally sustainable hydropower, which the Government supports, is to ensure new installations protect or even enhance the environment by, for example, improving the ability of fish to migrate past long established river barriers.
Hydropower is dependent on the volume of water available and will normally generate more power in winter when there is more rain.
Grants
There are no government grants for micro or wind turbines
Permitted planning
There are no permitted development rights for micro-hydro.
Installations, at all capacities, must seek both planning permission as well as relevant permitting from the
Environment Agency (EA). (
and its equivalents in Scotland (SEPA) and in Northern Ireland.
DECC Community Energy Online website may also provide you with useful guidance and information.
Micro hydro certification and access to Feed-in Tariffs (FITS)
In June 2011 the Coalition published a Microgeneration Strategy which proposed to withdraw the exclusive link between micro hydro and the MCS for the purpose of FITs eligibility. It also confirmed that the comprehensive review of FITs is considering how this can be taken forward. We will consult on the comprehensive review later this year. The review will be completed by around the end of 2011 with any resulting changes introduced from April 2012 (unless the review reveals a need for greater urgency).
In the meantime, and pending the outcome of the comprehensive review, the Feed-in Tariffs (Specified Maximum Capacity and Functions) (Amendment No. 2) Order 2011, which was laid in Parliament on 8 July 2011 and will come into force on 1 August 2011, extends the current transitional arrangement. This means that micro-hydro stations (with a capacity of 50kW or less) that are first commissioned between 1 April 2010 and 31 March 2012 will need to be accredited for FITs under the ROO-FIT process, administrated by Ofgem.
On 28 October 2010 a DECC and Welsh Assembly Government co-funded BHA resource study of England and Wales which is available below: