Fracking given the Green Light in the UK

The UK Government has given the go ahead to fracking for natural gas to resume. The controversial technique which is used to extract gas deposits in rock buried underground will resume after being suspended last year after safety concerns surrounding the process.

Cheap Gas for everyone!

The USA is now the world’s biggest producer of natural gas and has seen domestic prices drop by 75% (there have been recent rises in the past couple of months).

No one knows how much gas can be extracted in the UK, some estimate 5 to 90 years worth of gas can be mined from the ground. Until more exploration has been made, no one knows.

If the reserves are large and easily extracted then the domestic price will be effected. If the deposits are small and difficult to extract they won’t affect the market price of natural gas.

The UK is at a cross roads and the mix of where  we get our energy from will be passionately debated over the coming months. What is a dead certainty is that the UK will not get its energy from one resource it will be a mix. Depending on how the UK Government subsidies each industry will show where it’s hedging its bets.

The Green Deal will give you and I the opportunity to have a say in the way that we heat and light our homes and will give choice to this highly political debate.

What about the environment?

It has been proven to contaminate ground water in the USA. One the water has been contaminated it is very hard or impossible to remove all of the pollution form the water.

The chemicals used in fracking can be highly toxic and their safe handling and disposal is a concern.

Environmentalists have also pointed to the large increase in road traffic due to all the trucks needed to service a well. A European study has estimated:

“Total truck movements during the construction and development phases of a well are estimated at between 7,000 and 11,000 for a single  ten-well pad. “ ec.europa.eu

The department of the environment is going to be responsible in policing the companies that will be fracking and In the USA where the practice has been going for a number of years is bringing in more and more legislation to cover all aspects of Fracking.

How do you want to heat your home in the future?  Comments below.

 

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