Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many new pumped storage hydro electricity generation plants have been authorised in (1) England, (2) Scotland, and (3) Wales, since 5 July 2024.

Planning consent is a matter for the relevant planning authority, which varies by country. The UK Government would only be responsible for consenting pumped storage hydro (PSH) projects in England above 50MW. In practice, these do not exist given more suitable topography in other parts of Britain.

On 26 June 2026, Ofgem published its "minded-to" decisions on projects to be supported under the Long Duration Electricity Storage (LDES) cap and floor investment support scheme. This includes three PSH projects, all located in Scotland: Loch Kemp, Coire Glas and Earba. The latter two projects already have planning consent. No PSH projects in England applied to the scheme, and none in Wales passed an earlier eligibility assessment. Ofgem is now consulting on these decisions before confirming final awards in autumn 2026.