According to a report from the BBC, the Environment Agency looks set to give its blessing to shale fracking in the UK.
However there is also what looks like a sting in the tail.
[Environment Agency boss] Lord Smith is expected to insist, however, that power firms should be required to capture the carbon emissions from burning gas and store them in underground rocks to prevent them contributing to climate change – something power firms are not currently obliged to do.
Given that millions (billions?) have been spent trying to make CCS work without any success, it does rather look to me as if this could be an attempt to kill off shale gas completely.
To require CCS for new fossil fuel projects would put the projects on par with wind and solar. But CCS requires tremendous energy to separate out and dispose of a high entropy gas. Lord Smith, as many others, has confused easy to say with easy to do.
The “Honorable” Lord Smith is NOT confused. He wants to stop civilization. He may not say so but if his policies are implemented, THAT is what will happen. Stated “good intentions” are not worth the hot air necessary to say them. Actual consequences are the only thing that counts.
This is great news! Britain will be a great market for LNG from the US.