The Shale Gas Rush

Can Shale Gas Solve Britain’s Energy Security Issues? Or is it to Risky?

Once again shale Gas is subject of debate between conservatives and non-conservatives about whether it can solve Britain’s energy and gas crisis. On one side we have the Energy Select Committee, lead by Tim Yeo, who advocates on the potential benefits that shale gas could bring the UK economy. On the other side we have environmentalists, backed by Lord Redesdale, who believe anaerobic digestion is the way forward.

It’s hard to say who is right and who is wrong in this debate. Both parties are defending what they believe is the best solution to put Britain in the right tracks towards an economy, with low carbon emissions and long term energy security.

Lord Redesdale, who is also Chairman of the Anaerobic Digestion and Biogas Association (ADBA), predicted that “20% of UK domestic gas needs, could be met by organic waste over next 10 years” using AD.

Not to mention that with anaerobic digestion, more waste is diverted from landfills and climate change issues are also addressed at the same time.

Meanwhile, Tim Yeo chairman of the energy select committee, advocates that the government should consider the potential benefits shale gas can generate to Britain. He emphasised that there are legitimate concerns about the environmental impact and those concerns must not be ignored. However if shale gas companies follow the guidelines outlined by the committee, these possible environmental issues will be minimised if not extinguished.

The biggest concern with shale gas is its extraction method, known as hydraulic fracture stimulation or more commonly known as fracking. Such process is known to cause earth tremors of small magnitude and could contaminate underground aquifers. But according to Mr. Yeo, shale gas extraction in the UK will be done way below the water table which more or less eliminates the risks of contamination.

With Regards to earthquakes, Yeo noted that the recorded tremors of magnitude 2.3 and 1.5 “probably” caused by shale gas exploration near Blackpool, posed no threat to the population what so ever.

“To put that into context, the European microseismic standard classifies a magnitude 1 earthquake, as one that is not felt, a magnitude 2 earthquake as scarcely felt, and a magnitude 3 earthquakes as weak.”

Overall the shale gas revolution received a guarded welcome by Parliament and other members of the government, the statement made my Energy Minister Charles Hendry clarifies that:

“I think that it is too early to know how significant shale gas may prove to be as a contributor to future UK energy supplies.”

The recent discoveries of shale gas reserves near Blackpool present a major step forward in diversifying and securing Britain’s energy supply. There is no doubt that shale gas could help bring more stability to business electricity and business gas prices in the near future.

We want to hear from you now, what are your views?

Can Shale Gas Solve Britain’s Energy Security Issues? Is it to Risky?

Have your say in our comments or join the discussion on our Facebook Page or Tweet about it using the hash tag #CatalystEnergy.

If you would like more information on our range of business energy services or would simply like to find out how we could benefit your business, simply call our energy team today on 0870 710 7560 or request a call back at time to suit.

Follow us on Twitter | Become a Fan on Facebook Or you might want to subscribe for further information on The Shale Gas Rush from our site.

This post has been viewed 2045 times.

Related posts...

November 22, 2011 -- Chris Huhne on Shale Gas: (0)
On an exclusive article for The Telegraph Britain's Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change shared his views on shale gas and what are the plans to keep the lights on in the UK. He made it cl...
April 18, 2012 -- Green Light for Shale Gas: (0)
The DECC commissioned a study from a panel of independent Geologists to investigate whether the seismic events experienced in the Blackpool area last year during shale gas extraction could be related ...
December 13, 2011 -- Natural Gas to Pass Coal: (0)
Natural Gas is set to become the world's second-biggest source of energy by 2025. This sure has been the year of natural gas, or we are yet to see the golden age of natural gas? According to ExxonMobi...
December 7, 2011 -- Floating LNG Terminals: (0)
As the world continues to look for a fuel to meet the ever growing global demand many alternatives are emerging to solve the problem. Due to its lower CO2 emissions than oil and coal, natural gas is p...
June 1, 2011 -- UK Shale Gas Extraction (1)
Opposite to what many people think Shale gas is not a new type of gas that has been discovered and extraction dates back to 1821 when the first commercial gas well was drilled in America more precisel...

Comments (0)

No Comments »

RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI