Water power has been a familiar sight for thousands of years. Most people in the UK probably know an old water mill, whether or not it still has its water-wheel that has been converted to another use, but the water that powered a threshing machine or grindstones can be used equally well to generate electricity.

Chapter Contents:

• 5.1 Power from water
• 5.2 The UK's hydropower potential
• 5.3 Assessing hydro sites
• 5.4 Environmental effects
• 5.5 Adding hydro to the system
• 5.6 Extracting the energy
• Panel 5.1 Reviving old mills
• Panel 5.2 Hydropower in Snowdonia

Inspec keywords: hydroelectric power

Other keywords: electricity generation; water-wheel; water mill; UK; distributed generation; grindstones; local energy; hydropower; threshing machine; water power

Subjects: Tidal and flow energy; Hydroelectric power stations and plants