On 18/10/2010 17:15, harry wrote:
On 18 Oct, 12:20, wrote:
Just been reading the latest news reports about tidal barrages and nuclear
power

Why does no one mention HEP as a renewable source of energy any more?

Surely there must still be some areas of Wales and Scotland along with bits
of Northen England that would be ripe for building dams and flooding. May
also be beneficial for flood control further down the valleys.

Can it really be more expensive than new nuclear stations?

Hydro power is capital intensive and we have few viable sites in the
UK. There are a few in Wales and Scotland all pretty old but still in
use, mostly updated.
There are now microhydro systems too due to the ehhanced rates paid
for green electricity.
We have a major manufacturer in this country.
http://www.gilkes.com/
Lots of info here.
The fate of all hydro projects is that the dam silts up.
I was reading about the high Aswan dam the other day, it is silting up
faster than anticipated
http://www.springerlink.com/content/n5677462t174565r/

There's a theme here. Huge hydro schemes are probably not going to be
built here, but maybe one important element of generation will be many
small scale schemes. I don't have the knowledge even to guess what
percentage of our need could be met by a combination of small river
generators, small scale tidal, roof-based photovoltaics, thermal energy,
wind, biogas plants, coppice burners and so on. The advantage would be
that each would not have a great impact so would satisfy those, like
myself, who don't want to see tracts of beautiful countryside spoiled by
industrial equipment.

Peter Scott