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A future without fracking?

Katrine Carstens | 08.01.2014 19:15 | Energy Crisis | World

Shale gas and hydraulic fracturing (fracking) have been hitting the headlines for months, surrounded by debate on controversial extraction methods. But if the future of fracking is uncertain, what are the alternatives for a secure energy future?

If you didn’t know what fracking was a few months ago, chances are that you do now. With test drilling at Balcombe, Sussex declared a “success” by energy company Cuadrilla, shale gas is billed by the UK government as the solution for moving from oil into more renewable sources of energy, as well as lowering energy bills. A considerable tax incentive for companies extracting this gas is planned for next year’s finance bill.


Fracking supporters say that as shale gas burns more cleanly than coal and oil, it’s the perfect ‘transition fuel’ to carry us until renewable energy methods can be sufficiently scaled up. The anti-fracking movement, however, says that it is a shortsighted solution that could end up being worse for the climate than coal, due to dangerous production methods and investment being driven away from renewable energy.


Fracking is a technique that falls within the category of “extreme energy,” a term coined by Michael T Klare, professor of peace and world security studies at Hampshire College. The term encompasses methods that exploit unconventional resources in a bid to feed our dependency on fossil fuels, and that are often environmentally risky or damaging. In this case, a mix of water, sand and chemicals such as citric acid, benzene and lead are pumped at high pressure into long horizontal wells drilled into shale rocks deep in the ground. This expands fissures which are then kept open by the sand, allowing the gas to rise to the surface where it is collected.
There are multiple concerns around this process, including the toxicity of the mix of chemicals pumped into the ground, seismic activity due to drilling and possible contamination of groundwater if earth tremors lead to cracks in the walls of wells.


Opposition to fracking is picking up speed both in the UK and globally, with Global Frackdown orchestrating a day in mid-October 2013 where people across the globe united to voice their concerns. Meanwhile, Greenpeace has launched a legal challenge on the premise that companies need permission to drill in the ground underneath people’s land. The campaign website offers people a way to check if their home is in the 64% of the country considered for possible fracking.


There is also an upsurge of community opposition across the UK, with locals and activists camping outside the Balcombe test site for weeks this summer, voicing their discontent and attempting to block access for equipment. While their protest did not prevent test drilling going ahead, it certainly sparked interest in the subject and increased public awareness of the debate.
Speaking at the protest site in August, John Sinha from the Campaign against Climate Change said: “It’s essential that we have these protests and direct action to actually raise the issue, otherwise it’s just not going to get discussed. Mainstream media give the impression that there are no alternatives.”


There are many other local communities in the UK affected by this issue and anti-fracking groups are springing up across the country. Residents Action on Fylde Fracking in Lancashire is particularly active, sharing knowledge and information with other community groups in places such as Yorkshire and Nottingham to help them prepare for campaigning. East Kent Against Fracking has also had two successes at the end of November, with Deal Council opposing fracking and Dover Council voting no to the method, pending further consultation.


“By reducing our demand for energy through measures such as strict building standards and changing our transport infrastructure, we can power the UK purely on wind, solar, geothermal, hydro, tidal and other types of renewable energy”


But exactly how much shale gas is expected to be hiding in the crevices of UK ground? In 2010 the British Geological Society (BGS) gave an indication that the potential could be around 150 billion cubic metres (bcm). In 2013 they estimated the potential of the Bowland Shale layer in Lancashire to contain 23-65,000 bcm. To put these figures into context, the annual UK gas consumption is currently 77 bcm and the remaining recoverable conventional gas resources are 1,466 bcm.


However, John Broderick, knowledge transfer fellow at Tyndall Manchester, the UK’s leading interdisciplinary climate change research centre, said: “Making any predictions about the amount of shale gas potentially recoverable is guesswork. It depends on both above-ground and below-ground factors such as the technology available and permitted by the regulatory framework, financing and economics, industrial logistics, public acceptance and, of course, fundamental geology.”


The long term UK carbon target set by the Climate Change Act aims to reduce emissions by at least 80% by 2050, down from 1990 levels. Legally binding five-yearly carbon budgets have been put in place to chart progress lasting until 2027. These targets are calculated to avoid more than a 2˚C increase in global temperature.


According to Broderick, by the time UK shale gas would hit the market, domestic consumption of gas of any form would have had to decrease sharply. In the absence of a global cap on emissions, adding any further fossil fuels into the energy mix would decrease prices and therefore increase consumption, a natural function of the structure of today’s economic system.


But what are the alternatives? A report by Zero Carbon Britain, an initiative from the Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT), shows that by reducing our demand for energy through measures such as strict building standards and changing our transport infrastructure, we can power the UK purely on wind, solar, geothermal, hydro, tidal and other types of renewable energy.
Carbon neutral synthetic liquid fuel and gas would be a crucial part of the equation as they have the same chemical make-up as their fossil fuel counterparts, and can be created through a conversion process that combines hydrogen with sustainably grown biomass. This is carbon neutral, as the CO2 released from burning the fuel would be soaked up as the biomass grows.


These findings are supported by innovative work conducted by Mark Z Jacobson, atmospheric scientist at Stanford University and Mark A Delucchi, specialist in economic and environmental planning at University of California.


There are certainly considerable challenges to overcome, but the model demonstrates exactly how the world could run on wind, water and solar (WWS).


WWS would be used to produce electricity and hydrogen. At three times the efficiency of hydrogen, electricity would be used when possible. Hydrogen fuel cells would solve issues of long distance transport where one electrical charge simply wouldn’t be sufficient. Hydrogen burns completely clean, emitting only water vapour.


Jacobson and Delucchi suggest that vehicles, trains and boats would run on electricity and hydrogen fuel cells, and planes would fly fuelled with liquid hydrogen (already used to power space shuttles). The temperature in homes would be regulated by electricity, hot water supplied by solar and industry would run on electricity and hydrogen combined.


The global energy mix required for this would be 50% wind, 40% solar, 4% geothermal, 4% hydroelectric and 2% wave and tidal power.


The ‘brains’ required to cope with peaks and troughs in supply and demand, as well as the intermittent nature of most renewable energy, is a so-called super grid. This powerful infrastructure would be run by software capable of directing available supplies to wherever energy is needed, even to storage facilities, thereby avoiding any waste of surplus energy. Non-variable sources of energy such as hydroelectric power would be used to back up the whole system.


“The technology and infrastructure required for this model to become reality is relatively straightforward,” said Jacobson. “The hardest nut to crack is mustering the political will to fully commit to the policy changes and financial incentives needed to make this work globally.”


Certainly, the economic benefits pose the best way to win political favour. There is huge potential for job creation in the climate sector and the boost this can give the economy is considerable. For example, a report published by Campaign against Climate Change, titled One Million Jobs, calls for the creation of a National Climate Service on par with the NHS. This service could potentially employ a million workers for ten years for less than is given to the banks in one year, helping unemployed people get back in work and marking a monumental shift forward in the climate sector.


Another issue of particular relevance to politicians is air pollution, a major cause of mortality causing around three million deaths each year. This would be dramatically reduced through a transition to renewable energies, and eventually virtually eradicated, creating an estimated saving on medical costs the equivalent of up to 7% of global GDP.


Knowing that influencing politicians and policy begins at a local level, Jacobson and Delucchi have spent the last few years developing intricate studies for New York State and California. Currently, the process of computer modeling each region is extremely labour-intensive and efforts are underway to automate parts of it in order to speed things up. For years Jacobson and Delucchi, along with a team of committed researchers, have been carrying out these studies on a voluntary basis next to their day jobs. Now, happily, Jacobson feels a momentum is building: “There is a certain bandwagon effect starting to happen, a sense that no one wants to be left behind.”


So for those opposed to fracking, there is reason for cautious optimism. It is entirely possible to wean the world off fossil fuels, argue the proponents of renewable energy, but it’s up to us as citizens to use the methods available to us to hold our elected politicians accountable for their actions and to steer them towards a clean energy future.



 http://positivenews.org.uk/2014/environment/renewable_energy/14466/future-fracking/

 http://www.globalfrackdown.org/

Katrine Carstens

Comments

Hide the following 11 comments

Quote from Michael Fallon MP

09.01.2014 16:25

" Hydraulic fracturing is such an easy choice to support it is one of those political issues where only the extremist fringe oppose it. Imagine an opportunity for the UK to be 100% free of imported gas for at least 200 years, what minister is going to say no to that ? Of course there will be objectors, like the Luddites before them they are always some tiny minority opposed to progress but they are an irrelevance regarding an issue of this importance. "

Will


Don't want your home fracked? Just say no!

09.01.2014 18:28

wrongmove


Opposition

10.01.2014 07:57

The quote here put up by Will is the crux of the matter when it comes to fracking. The economic argument combined with the ability for the UK to become free of imported gas for generations is driving the rush behind fracking. The government is looking at what happened in places like Texas and Alberta (massive falls in the price of gas, zero imports now) and thinking, "we'll have some of that".

Opposition to fracking may well be passionate, well intended and committed but they are going to go the way of those who opposed the railways, a footnote in history and largely ignored.

Marc


Over 60% of the UK considered suitable

10.01.2014 17:44

>> The wrong move website is a con, whatever post code you put in it it returns the same message,

"Your home is in one of the areas the government is considering for drilling and possible fracking."

I entered the post code of Harrods, Buckingham Palace, RNS Culdrose and and Heathrow all said the same.

t <<

Yes t the Government considers over 60% of the UK to be suitable for fracking.

wrongmove


@ wrongmove

13.01.2014 09:57

So you are suggesting that the government is considering fracking around Harrods, Buckingham Palace, RNS Culdrose and and Heathrow. In fact in the city centres

Sensible person


Reply to Sensible person

13.01.2014 16:48

Yes as crazy as it sounds that is exactly what the government is suggesting.

Quote from the About Wrongmove page on the website:

"Surprisingly, the area being considered by the government for oil and gas extraction includes highly populated areas, and a large part of London. Whilst this seems crazy, Boris Johnson has been on record saying he is open to fracking under the capital, and so London is still included in the area that could be subject to drilling plans. "

wrongmove


Wrong Move - wrong ideas

14.01.2014 08:43

"Yes as crazy as it sounds that is exactly what the government is suggesting"
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


Expect it's not is it ?

The governemt has identified about 42% of the UK mainland as possibly being suitable for exploration wells. Of these nearly half are in areas of previous coal mines or natural gas deposits so the distruption will be minimal.
Your quotation of Boris Johnson (Mayor of London) is also innacurate. What Johnson said (in a radio interview on LBC) was,

"Well in theory any part of the UK including London could be drilled for fracking in the same way any part of the country could have been dug for coal however we never dug coal mines under London and I can't see us drilling for gas there either"

Sensible person


What Boris Johnson actually said

14.01.2014 18:04

Below is what London Mayor Boris Johnson has actually said on the subject of fracking in London, with references:

'The London mayor, Boris Johnson, is a big fan of shale gas. So much so that he told the Times today:
"If reserves of shale can be exploited in London we should leave no stone unturned, or unfracked, in the cause of keeping the lights on".

Putting a drilling rig in the middle of one of the world's most densely populated cities may sound like an outlandish scheme - even for the notoriously eccentric Mayor. But could it work?
Dr Nick Riley, Team Leader for Unconventional Gas at the British Geological Survey, told us that actually there's no technical reason why it couldn't happen. Yes Londoners, with the right geology, technology, and a bit of public acceptance, there could be a frack pad coming to a housing estate near you.'

 http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/jul/02/shale-gas-energy

 http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/opinion/letters/article3805083.ece

Factual person


What Boris Johnson actually said - all of it

15.01.2014 12:40

You forgot the rest of the quote....

'The London mayor, Boris Johnson, is a big fan of shale gas. So much so that he told the Times today:
"If reserves of shale can be exploited in London we should leave no stone unturned, or unfracked, in the cause of keeping the lights on". ....... "of course this does not mean that we will be building fracking operations in London itself. There will not be fracking in Hyde Park (laughter)"

Sensible person


They will frack anywhere, they don't care

17.01.2014 18:15

They will frack anywhere they don't care. They are money mad idiots who will happily destroy our planet for short sighted financial profit. They need to be stopped!

Factual person


@ factual person

18.01.2014 10:11

So now your previous posts have been proven to be little more than selective quotes that twisted the truth you have fallen back on generalised statements that indicate no knowledge of the plans for fracking.

Kind of sums up the entire opposition to fracking doesn't it ?

Observer


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