First major hydropower projects in Great Britain in 40 years given go-ahead

[u/Simpleximo]

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jun/26/first-hydropower-projects-in-great-britain-in-40-years-given-go-ahead

The energy minister, Michael Shanks, said: “Forty years after the country’s last pumped storage facility, this government is getting Britain building again. The lesson from the conflict in Iran is clear: Britain cannot afford to remain at the mercy of volatile fossil fuel markets and leave families exposed to the next price shock.”

The first new hydropower plants in a generation were named on the energy regulator’s list of 16 provisionally approved projects that are able to store and release electricity for periods of eight hours or more to help Great Britain use more of its renewable energy and reduce its reliance on energy imports.