Tag: fracking

Fracking hell: politicians speak out

Johnstone: ‘I’d urge communities to oppose such developments’

shale gas extractionAlison Johnstone, Green MSP for Lothian and a member of Holyrood’s economy and energy committee, is urging communities around the Forth to oppose plans for underground coal gasification.

Drilling firm Cluff, one of a number of firms with licences to extract gas from coal seams around the Scottish coast, says it intends to apply for planning permission to develop drilling operations under the Firth of Forth.

Gasification involves drilling into coal seams, igniting them and capturing the resulting gas from a borehole.

Even with as-yet unproven carbon capture and storage technology, coal gasification would still emit more greenhouse gases than renewables.

Alison Johnstone MSP said: “Just a week after the IPCC warned that we need to urgently phase out fossil fuels, we have a company preparing to drill for yet more. In recent months I’ve been hearing from local people rightly alarmed at the prospect of unconventional gas drilling in their area, and I’d urge communities to oppose such developments.

“The local authorities and the environmental regulator Sepa must take into account the climate impact from this proposal. It also poses an economic risk by extracting fossil fuel we simply can’t afford to burn, and diverting attention away from the renewables sector that is steadily growing the long-term, well-paid jobs we all want to see.”

Mark Lazarowicz MP has urged the UK Government to devolve the responsibility for licencing fracking in Scotland to the Scottish Government. He was speaking at Energy and Climate Change questions in the House of Commons.

The North & Leith MP said: “This is an issue that many people feel strongly about, and I do not see any reasons why the power to grant licences should not be transferred from the Department of Energy and Climate Change to the Scottish Government.”

“Labour has already called for much tighter safeguards for licencing: companies must be forced to disclose the chemicals used in fracking and tests must take place for 12 months before the final go-ahead to find any trace of water contamination.

“Many issues relating to fracking are already devolved, including planning and environmental regulation, consent for electricity generation and transmission are all devolved. It makes sense for all aspects of the control of fracking to be devolved.”

Currently, companies must first apply for a licence from the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) to explore for shale gas and another to then actually drill and extract it.

The company also needs a licence from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), who regulate the way that the development will affect the local environment, in particular discharges of fracking fluid to local water sources.

Companies must also apply to the local authority for planning permission to deal with matters covered by planning law and the Scottish Parliament already has full authority over that, so Mr Lazarowicz argues that it makes sense for overall control of licencing to be devolved too.

No fracking chance!

frack

The Scottish Government is objecting to UK Government proposals which would remove the right of Scottish householders to object to oil and gas drilling and hydraulic fracturing beneath their homes. The stance has been welcomed by the Scottish Greens, who say fracking poses a threat to our economy as well as our environment.

The proposals from the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change will allow companies to drill below people’s land without first negotiating a right of access.

Energy Minister Fergus Ewing has said that powers on this issue should be with Scotland, and that independence will give the people of Scotland, the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Government the power to consider policy on unconventional oil and gas in a cautious, considered and evidence-based way.

Scottish Energy Minister Fergus Ewing said: “The Scottish Government believe that there should be an evidence based, cautious and considered approach to unconventional oil and gas, and that all of the decisions taken about it should be taken by the people of Scotland, through the Parliament and Government they elected.

“UK Government proposals to remove the right of Scottish householders to object to drilling under their homes flies in the face of that approach and that is why we object to them. It is also fundamentally an issue affecting land ownership rights.

“The gung-ho approach of the UK Government to the whole issue of unconventional oil and gas – often without any consultation with the Scottish Government at all – contrasts with our approach.

“Whatever your view on the issue of unconventional oil and gas – and it is clear that there are both opportunities and concerns – there is only one way that the people of Scotland can determine the approach in Scotland – including beneath their homes and land. That is to take the power to deal with this issue away from Westminster and that can only be done with the powers of independence.“

Patrick Harvie, Co-convener of the Scottish Greens, welcomed Energy Minister Fergus Ewing’s comments yesterday.

The Green MSP pointed out that the Infrastructure Bill – put forward at Westminster by the Conservative-Liberal Democrat government and supported by Labour – would overrule trespass laws, enabling drilling firms to install pipes to transport gas without landowners’ permission.

He added: “Greens have been calling for this proposal to be blocked in Scotland, so these comments from Fergus Ewing are a good step. Holyrood should reject the UK Infrastructure Bill when it gets the chance to do so by way of legislative consent motions.

“Meantime Scottish ministers should continue to consider the use of existing regulations to ban unconventional gas completely. We are risking our economy, not just our environment, if we encourage yet more fossil fuel extraction.

“Communities such as Airth near Falkirk and Canonbie in Dumfries and Galloway are already facing a battle against gas drilling. Given the Scottish Government’s failure to support a ban on fracking or clear buffer zones, and the First Minister’s description of shale gas as an opportunity, many other communities across Scotland will remain deeply concerned at these unwanted, unnecessary developments.”

In June, Derek Mackay MSP, Minister for Local Government and Planning, announced the new Scottish Planning Policy. Following extensive public consultation and rigorous scrutiny in the Scottish Parliament, it was clear that concerns remained over buffer-zones and community engagement.

Five new measures were introduced in relation to hydraulic fracturing, including bringing in a requirement that developments only proceed if communities and the environment can be protected, and operators will have to consult with communities on their proposals.

The Scottish Government convened a group of experts last September to review the scientific evidence on unconventional oil & gas, and on 28 July they published an authoritative and impartial report.

The findings from the Independent Expert Scientific Panel have highlighted a number of issues that may require further work, including some suggestions on further tightening of our robust regulatory process and a Working Group will now look at these areas to take forward those suggestions.

Fracking hell: new report ignites energy debate

 ‘No place for fracking in Scotland’s energy future’ – Patrick Harvie

frackScotland is sitting on enough shale oil and gas to meet our energy needs for the next half-century, according to a new report by the British Geological Survey – but environmentalists are warning that ‘fracking’ to get at shale gas deposits would have serious consequences for local communities.

The British Geological Survey’s report of the resources in the Midland Valley, Scotland, suggests a ‘modest’ amount of gas and oil in place. The central estimate of shale gas in place is 80 trillion cubic feet, the central estimate for shale oil in place is 6 billion barrels of oil.

However ‘modest’, the Department of Energy and Climate Change believes ‘ the complex geology of the area and historic mine workings means that exploratory drilling and testing is even more important to determine how much can be recovered.’

Business and Energy Minister Michael Fallon said: “Making the most of Britain’s home grown energy is crucial to keep job and business opportunities, widen tax revenues and reduce our reliance on foreign imports.

“We know that shale gas alone won’t be able to supply all of our energy needs, but the environmentally responsible exploration of shale gas could contribute to our energy mix.

“Only the broad shoulders of the United Kingdom can attract investment in new energy sources and maintain the UK’s position as one of the world’s great energy hubs – generating energy and generating jobs.

“The UK’s energy security is among the best in the world, backed by a large consumer and tax base that can afford to support our world-leading energy industries and make us such an attractive place to invest.”

Professor Mike Stephenson, Director of Science and Technology at the British Geological Survey said: “The central estimate of shale gas in place is 80 trillion cubic feet and the central estimate for shale oil in place is 6 billion barrels of oil but reserves cannot be calculated at this stage before drilling and testing take place. The Midland Valley of Scotland has complex geology and a relative lack of data compared to the previous DECC-BGS Bowland-Hodder and Weald Basin studies”

However Green MSP Patrick Harvie says the study by the British Geological Survey shows that ‘potentially modest’ reserves of shale oil and gas prove that  fracking shouldn’t figure in Scotland’s energy future.

He pointed out that the estimated 80 trillion cubic feet of shale gas in central Scotland is just six per cent of the reserves thought to be present in northern England and said a huge swathe of Scotland – from Argyll to Aberdeenshire and from Ayrshire to East Lothian – has been earmarked as ‘ripe for fracking’ by the UK Government.

Mr Harvie, Green MSP for Glasgow and Co-convener of the Scottish Greens, said: “This study puts paid to all the hype we’ve been fed about a shale bonanza. Not only would fracking divert attention from our undoubted renewables potential but any economically viable extraction would be modest and short-term. Greens want a long-term energy plan for Scotland, and we have abundant clean sources to do this.

“As communities across Scotland realise the risk to their local environments from the prospect of fracking, and as climate science tells us we must start to leave unburnt fossil fuels in the ground, it’s clear that any such developments will face strong opposition.

“It all serves as a reminder that Westminster controls energy policy in Scotland. The chance to pursue clean, long-lasting power rather than polluting, finite fuels is a compelling reason to vote Yes in September.”