To frack or not to frack? That is the question. With the rocketing prices of wholesale gas sending energy bills sky high and Putin’s weaponisation of Russia’s vast fossil fuel supplies, it is right that every avenue to lower energy bills and increase our energy security is considered.
But, despite this, the case for fracking remains weak. It is unpopular, expensive, and most importantly, unlikely to yield enough gas to make a difference to either prices or our energy security.
We will continue to use gas as we transition to net zero, albeit increasingly less. Gas is gas, it’s not more damaging to the environment if it’s drilled in the UK rather than half-way across the world and shipped here. In fact, given industry regulations and the fact that it’s produced closer to home, the carbon footprint of our domestic gas is less than imported gas. So, the government has been right to invest in our domestic industries in the UK’s Energy Security Strategy published earlier this year.
What could fracking’s contribution be? The industry’s best projections show that in five years, fracking could provide 5 per cent of the UK’s gas. Previous reports commissioned by BEIS, which remain unpublished but were seen by government advisers at the time, point to there being as little as two years of the UK’s total gas supply available as shale gas which could be extracted through fracking.
It’s not enough to make a significant difference to our energy security, interestingly a national energy efficiency drive to make the average home EPC C instead of D would cut UK gas demand by more, 7.4 per cent.
It’s certainly not enough to make a difference on price. In the first half of this year production in the North Sea increased by 26%. Gas prices have not gone down. Gas is sold at the global market price and the UK’s supply is not enough to make a difference to global prices.
The main reason fracking is so unpopular is that it’s not perceived as safe. In 2019, the government introduced a moratorium on fracking because we couldn’t accurately predict or assess the tremors it might cause after an earthquake measured 2.9 on the Richter scale. And as the new British Geological Survey review ordered by the government found, we still cannot accurately predict these tremors. In Britain we have a much higher population density than the US, where fracking has played a significant part in their energysupply, so fracking would have to take place much closer to peoples’ homes. That’s why it’s absolutely vital that fracking is only carried out if it has the consent of the local community.
This is what was promised by the Prime Minister in her leadership election. But, despite lifting the moratorium, ministers have not been able to tell us how this consent will be defined (what counts as the local community for example) and how it will be measured. Instead, there has been a suggestion that fracking companies will need to produce attractive investment packages to incentivise local communities to host fracking sites.
I have no problem with incentives for hosting energy production, but that is not the same thing as consent. If communities wish to reject a fracking site on their doorstep, despite the investment package, they should have a legitimate route to doing so.
So, scepticism about the latest attempt to kickstart fracking is neither ‘hysterical’ nor ‘luddite’ but a considered one based on true conservative beliefs in evidenced based policy, empowering local communities and focusing our resources on the solutions which will give us the most bang for the tax-payer buck.
New renewables are nine times cheaper than electricity generated by gas power stations, and insulation can conserve gas and cut people’s energy bills by hundreds of pounds. We must go further and faster with building new wind and solar power and launch a national drive to insulate the UK’s nearly 19 million energy-inefficient homes. Simplifying planning rules for rooftop solar panels and speeding up the deployment of wind power will reduce our reliance on gas and lower prices.
These net zero solutions, and more like them, are key to ending the spiral of high gas prices. It’s a popular path that unites the majority of people, which will bring bills down while creating jobs and new industries. Fracking is a divisive distraction from this and will not deliver for the British people. If we are to lift the ban, our focus and efforts must remain resolutely on net zero and ensure any new system respects communities’ right to say no.