Britain’s fracking revolution set to take off as ministers vow to force local areas to accept new gas projects
Ministers have a new plan to beat shale gas ‘scaremongers' as Britain needs to find new supplies of gas beyond the North Sea
BRITAIN'S long-delayed fracking revolution was given a huge boost last night as Ministers vowed to take on “scaremongering” protestors by turbo-charging the planning process.
Energy Minister Claire Perry said the North Sea had been a “Great British success story” but the country needed to find new supplies of gas.
The Government said it wants shale gas exploration to be treated as a “permitted development” by councils to speed-up the search for new reserves.
And Ministers want to add fracking to a list of “nationally significant infrastructure projects” to force town halls to stand up to campaigners and approve drilling in their patch.
Furious green campaigners said it would make it as easy to explore for shale gas as “building a conservatory”.
But officials said it was critical to kick-start the expansion of fracking to reduce the UK’s reliance on gas from countries such as Russia.
Business Secretary Greg Clark wants to encourage more frackingSo far just a handful of shale gas exploration projects have been given the thumbs up despite ex-PM David Cameron’s call for a fracking revolution four years ago.
Ms Perry told The Sun: “There are those that argue strongly against shale gas using the most colourful and scaremongering language they can find and intimidating local communities and decision makers with lots of protestors from out of town.
“In my experience most of these arguments are made by people who actually just don’t want us to use gas at all - now or ever.
“Shale gas extraction could provide a big economic boost for local communities sitting atop the shale fields – bringing thousands of high quality jobs, local investment and financial benefits to many parts of the country.”
Energy giant Cuadrilla immediately welcomed the announcement – pointing out that its bid to drill four exploratory wells in Lancashire took “three costly years”.
Francis Egan said: “These timelimes must improve if the country is to benefit from its own, much needed, indigenous source of gas.”
But the move sparked fury from green campaigners and Green Party chief Caroline Lucas.
Greenpeace head of politics Rebecca Newsome said: “After seven years of fracking doing less than nothing to help our economy, the government’s still going all out for shale, and still trampling over democracy to prop up this collapsing industry.”
Friends of the Earth said: “The Government’s plans pervert the planning process and could make England’s landscape a wild west for whatever cowboy wants to start drilling and digging up our countryside.
“Permitted development was meant to help people build a fence or a conservatory, not drill for gas.”
Former PM David Cameron four years ago slammed the critics who were “religiously opposed” to shale gas exploration saying that fracking could keep Britain in gas for years to come.
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Fracking involves fracturing rocks deep underground with water and chemicals to extract natural gas.
The Government at the time said fracking could generate £3.5 billion-worth of investment and 74,000 jobs.
Blackpool was touted as the new Dallas given estimates that a gas basin in Lancashire was big enough to fill 66,000 Albert Halls.
THE FUTURE IS BENEATH US
By Claire Perry, Minister for Energy and Clean Growth
DEVELOPING our North Sea oil and gas has been a Great British success story.
Since the first wells started producing in the 1960s we have created a secure domestic energy supply, created thousands of high quality jobs, delivered billions to the economy and driven the growth of a huge engineering sector that we have exported to the world.
Even with the amazing improvements in North Sea production, volumes are declining and we are now importing almost half of our gas supplies.
Although we are in no way reliant on Russian gas despite what the Russians would have you believe.
Because gas is so important for our economy we know that we will need it for decades to come.
It also fits with our world-beating climate goals as it generates less CO2 than oil and coal.
That is why every estimate of our 2050 emissions reductions targets from the independent Climate Change Committee includes gas in our energy mix and why it is right to continue to look for gas that can be safely extracted from the potentially huge reserves hundreds of metres beneath our feet.
And there are other benefits too.
Shale gas extraction could provide a big clean growth boost for local communities as part of our modern Industrial Strategy – bringing thousands of high quality jobs, local investment and financial benefits to many parts of the country.
And our world-leading environmental regulations mean we could create even more investment and export opportunities from innovations like recycling waste water.
There are those who argue strongly against shale gas, using the most colourful and scaremongering language they can find and intimidating local communities and decision makers with lots of protestors from out of town.
In my experience, most of these arguments are made by people who actually just don’t want us to use gas at all – now or ever.
While we should all be hugely proud of our huge progress on renewables that delivers almost 30 percent of our electricity needs, we cannot meet our energy and heat needs now, or for many years to come, at a price we can afford, without using the gas that geography has gifted us.
That is why we committed in our Manifesto to support the development of onshore British shale gas and to deliver a clean safe and affordable energy supply for the country.
It is why I have set out these changes to the planning and regulation regime to make sure there is support available for all involved in this process.
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