{"id":28335,"date":"2016-01-19T15:34:47","date_gmt":"2016-01-19T15:34:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.climatechangenews.com\/?p=28335"},"modified":"2016-01-19T15:34:47","modified_gmt":"2016-01-19T15:34:47","slug":"uk-fracking-furore-cronin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.climatechangenews.com\/2016\/01\/19\/uk-fracking-furore-cronin\/","title":{"rendered":"UK fracking furore will fizzle out says shale chief"},"content":{"rendered":"

Protests are the norm with onshore energy projects – but let industry address\u00a0‘fears and myths’ to prove benefits, says top natural gas lobbyist<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Protesters

Protesters rallied outside Parliament in July as MPs debated fracking (Pic: Friends of the Earth UK\/Twitter)<\/p><\/div>\n

By Alex Pashley<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Britain will come round to\u00a0shale drilling, much like it did with nuclear plants and wind farms, the head\u00a0of industry body UK Onshore Oil and Gas, Ken Cronin, has said.<\/strong><\/p>\n

A month after the government awarded new licenses to explore for oil and gas across England, the industry will\u00a0step up its consultations with local communities to ease concerns about the controversial practice.<\/p>\n

“The UK has seen protests with respect to onshore wind farms, nuclear power stations, solar farms over the last 20 years. Opposition to onshore energy production is not new,” he told Climate Home in an interview.<\/p>\n

“Whether it is shale gas or onshore wind, there will be opponents and proponents. We\u2019ll typically work through the fears and myths just like wind did a few years ago.”<\/p>\n

Hydraulic fracturing has not taken place in Britain since a one-year\u00a0ban was lifted in 2012, with energy firms running into heated local opposition.<\/p>\n

Last year, Lancashire country council threw out a planning application for shale wells due to its adverse impact on the landscape, noise and increased traffic.<\/p>\n

The UK government sees gas as the core element in its energy strategy<\/a>, having announced coal plants will close by 2025<\/a> and slashed support for wind and solar, a move that has angered green groups<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Report:<\/strong> Fracking could hit UK house prices, health and tourism
\n<\/a>John Ashton:<\/strong> Our weapon against fracking is the love of our land<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Public ire continues apace.\u00a0Hundreds of people took part in an anti-fracking demonstration just days ago in Merseyside, near to a test drilling site, the BBC reported.<\/a><\/p>\n

The government has since moved to weaken local councils\u2019 grip<\/a> on planning decisions. It champions\u00a0the extraction of natural gas from shale as a means to energy independence and cut\u00a0carbon emission to counter climate change. Green groups\u00a0see this at the expense of the fledgling renewables industry which has lost cash subsidies.<\/p>\n

This week a pro-fracking Conservative MP resigned from a\u00a0parliamentary shale gas group<\/a> funded by\u00a0gas companies after a campaign by constituents concerned about plans to explore for hydrocarbons near their homes.<\/p>\n

Still, shale extraction\u00a0had to be considered in the “totality” of UK energy policy, said Cronin, who joined in 2013 to fight the industry’s\u00a0corner.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we have to do as an industry is work at the local community level to tell them how we\u2019re doing it, what information we are giving them, what their option is before we do any planning applications.\u201d<\/p>\n

Myths fuelling opposition relating to fracking’s link to tremors or contamination of the water supply were due to “isolated events in the US”, he argued.<\/p>\n

The US\u00a0National Earthquake Information Center (NEIC) recorded 1,427 quakes between 2014 and 2015<\/a> in Oklahoma, a major oil and gas producing state, leaving seismologists “concerned” about the potential impacts of fracking.<\/p>\n

Report:<\/strong> UK government outlines plans to bypass fracking opposition
\n<\/a>Report:<\/strong> UK political consensus on fracking for gas disintegrates<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

But densely-populated Britain had more robust safeguards\u00a0in the\u00a0design of its wells, chemicals used in frack fluid, and independent regulators than in America, which pioneered the technology, Cronin stressed. Given proper regulations, risks were “minimal”.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have been producing oil and gas for over 100 years in a heavily regulated industry with very few problems.”<\/p>\n

Licenses have been awarded mostly in north England in the Bowland basin, the largest formation with predictions<\/a> of over\u00a02,200 trillion cubic feet of shale gas. Though there is no guarantee any is technically recoverable, or that drilling will be commercially viable.<\/p>\n

Last year’s global warming accord confirmed natural gas’ role as a ‘bridge fuel’ from highly-polluting coal\u00a0to lower carbon sources, making it central to meeting emissions targets. The UK is committed by law to cut emissions at least 80% by 2050 on 1990 levels.<\/p>\n

Analysis:<\/strong> Is natural gas really a bridge to a greener future?<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The fuel’s\u00a0role in producing renewables technologies like solar panels to petrochemicals meant it was indispensable.<\/p>\n

“I don’t see it as renewables versus gas. I see very much gas and renewables working together to meet the targets,” he said.<\/p>\n

“I think if you look at the US, for example, that’s a very good example of what can be done… Texas has 30% of electricity from renewables despite the fact it’s one of the top shale gas producers.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"INTERVIEW: Protests are the norm with onshore energy projects – but let industry address ‘fears and myths’ to prove benefits, says top natural gas lobbyist","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[598,1483],"tags":[451,2723],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-28335","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fossil-fuels","category-un-climate-talks","tag-fracking","tag-natural-gas","type-interview"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nUK fracking furore will fizzle out says shale chief<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"INTERVIEW: Protests are the norm with onshore energy projects - 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