Monthly Archives: August 2019

Renewable energy comes from the Earth’s natural resources – sunlight, wind, waves, the tides and geothermal heat from deep within our planet. It has two great advantages: unlike oil, coal and gas, it will never run out, and it’s clean – it doesn’t pollute the planet or cause dangerous climate change.

It is versatile and adaptable. Renewable energy can supply huge cities on the grid or remote villages unconnected to any mains electricity. It can also be built close to where the power is actually needed, and the sheer range of technologies means that one or another will be suitable almost anywhere.

The UK has some of the best renewable energy sources in the world. Our islands, battered by wind and waves, are perfect for tapping into these power sources. Even solar energy has a role to play – solar panels are more efficient in direct sunlight, but can generate power even on a cloudy day. New developments in battery storage mean renewable energy can be used even when the wind isn’t blowing or the sun shining. This provides a fantastic opportunity for the UK to be at the forefront of technological innovation, creating jobs and driving down costs even more.

The rise of renewable energy
In fact, renewable energy is slowly replacing fossil fuels. In 2015 renewables generated more power than coal for the first time ever, and by 2018 was approaching the level of gas generation and is set to continue growing. It’s also getting much cheaper – wind power now costs far less than nuclear, and between 2015 and 2017 the price of offshore wind halved.

All this makes much of the government’s attitude towards renewable energy at odds with its claim to being an international leader on tackling climate change. Cuts to government support for solar power has led to a drop in the number of solar panels being installed, and continued political and financial backing for fossil fuels and nuclear power just don’t make sense. The UK is legally committed to tackling climate change and, by 2050, reducing emissions by 80% compared to 1990. There is pressure on all governments to get to zero carbon emissions even before 2050 if we have any hope of keeping global temperature rises below 1.5 degrees.

Massively increasing renewable energy is the most important way the government is going to meet its commitments, and for us to have a chance of stopping the worst effects of climate change from happening.

A change of British government has given the much maligned fracking industry another opportunity to make out its case for stimulating the controversial technique to tap unconventional natural gas reserves.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his new business minister, Andrea Leadsom, have come out in favor of hydraulic fracturing in the past. That could provide impetus for an industry that has all but ground to a halt thanks to strict regulatory limits on the seismic activity around fracking wells.

As Cuadrilla Resources Ltd. resumed work at a site in Lancashire, the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy said Thursday that it saw shale gas as a crucial domestic energy source that can cut gas imports as well as working as a bridging fuel to get to net zero emissions by 2050. That may indicate the government could loosen rules that have hobbled the industry.

“For our industry in particular, we do need a review” of seismic limits, said Ken Cronin, chief executive officer of the U.K. Onshore Oil and Gas body.

Some sort of change is necessary to keep fracking alive. Cuadrilla has until Nov. 31 to work at its Preston Road site. After that, planning permission expires and only flow tests of existing boreholes are possible. The firm has applied to Lancashire County Council for an 18-month extension, but a decision on that is unlikely before summer 2020, a spokeswoman said.

Fracking involves pumping water and tiny particles into underground rock formations under high pressure, opening cavities to allow gas to flow into the wellbore. The technique can cause tremors in the earth, although most are so minor only scientific instruments can detect them.

In Britain, rules restrict fracking to operations that have underground seismic activity of below 0.5 on the Richter Scale. That’s a fraction of what’s allowed in Texas and Oklahoma where fracking has revolutionized the oil industry.

“We were stymied by the 0.5, and we think that there is good scientific evidence out there to increase that level,” Cronin said.

It’s one of the few technologies that could slow or even reverse the sharp declines in oil and gas production from the North Sea as conventional deposits run dry. Exploration has been halted a number of times over concerns about earthquakes caused by fracking, most of them too small for people to notice.

By comparison, a passing truck produces magnitude-3 quake on the Richter Scale, according to Bloomberg Intelligence. Cuadrilla Resources Ltd. had stopped its U.K. fracking operations in October, following a series of mini-seismic events at its site in Lancashire, north west England.

After years of delays, fracking in the U.K. seemed closer than ever when Cuadrilla Resources Ltd. said in February that the nation’s first horizontal fracking well had uncovered a large reservoir of high-quality fuel.

But that optimism however was short-lived as Cuadrilla blamed overzealous controls on seismic activity that prevent it from being able to fully tap the potential of the well. Both it and Jim Ratcliffe-owned Ineos Group Ltd., have said that unless the government loosens regulations they won’t be able to frack in the U.K.

Cuadrilla Chief Executive Officer Francis Egan said that government policy to explore and develop shale-gas “has not changed.” He said he took encouragement by government climate advisers, the Climate Change Committee, recognizing natural gas as an essential energy for the U.K.’s net-zero commitment.

“Give the British people their mineral rights, and get fracking at last,” Johnson wrote in the Telegraph in 2014. As Mayor of London, he told the Times of London newspaper that the city “should leave no stone unturned, or unfracked, in the cause of keeping the lights on.”

Leadsom wrote in the Yorkshire Post in 2016 that “a shale gas industry will not only boost our economy and create thousands of jobs across the supply chain it will help to guarantee a secure energy supply which is an absolute must for this government.”

Despite apparent support at ministerial level, dozens of lawmakers in the Conservative Party oppose the practice partly on environmental grounds and partly because of the threat dozens of wells would have to the countryside.

So far, the government hasn’t committed to changing the rules. On Thursday it restated its enthusiasm for fracking without saying how it would balance the environment concerns.

“Shale gas could be an important new domestic energy source reducing the level of gas imports while delivering broad economic benefits, including through the creation of well-paid, quality jobs,” the business department said in a statement. “It could also support our transition to net zero emissions by 2050.”

Opposition parties point out fracking and producing more gas isn’t compatible with goals to rein in fossil fuel emissions and climate change.

“There is no way we can reach net zero by 2050 if we fully exploit the UK’s shale gas reserve,” said Rebecca Long-Bailey, the member of Parliament who speaks for the Labour opposition on business. “Simply put, there is no room left for fracking and it should be banned immediately.”

Environmental questions
The practice has come under fire from environmental campaigners concerned about the affect it has on rock structures and water systems as well as the emissions. Protesters have consistently disrupted prospective shale gas sites up and down the U.K. and have taken the issue to court to have it stopped.

In a new study from Cornell University, globally the industry is found to be behind rising greenhouse-gas emissions, according to Robert Howarth. The process contributes more methane than cows and wetlands. The gas has global-warming potential, 84 times greater than carbon dioxide across a 20-year period.

“The industry seems to have struggled to convince the British public that developing a new fossil fuel resource is an environmentally responsible thing to do,” Laurence Williams, a research fellow in environmental politics at the University of Sussex, said in an email Wednesday.

The argument that shale gas can work as a transition fuel “had only limited success in persuading environmentally minded people to support fracking,” said Williams. “And it struggles to compete with the simplicity and clarity of a phrase like ‘keep it in the ground.’”

Clean, renewable energy is a vital tool in our plans to reduce the worst effects of climate change. Replacing fossil fuels with wind and solar to power our homes and businesses will dramatically cut our greenhouse gas emissions. The added bonus is it will cut air pollution at the same time.

enewable energy comes from the Earth’s natural resources – sunlight, wind, waves, the tides and geothermal heat from deep within our planet. It has two great advantages: unlike oil, coal and gas, it will never run out, and it’s clean – it doesn’t pollute the planet or cause dangerous climate change.

It is versatile and adaptable. Renewable energy can supply huge cities on the grid or remote villages unconnected to any mains electricity. It can also be built close to where the power is actually needed, and the sheer range of technologies means that one or another will be suitable almost anywhere.

The UK has some of the best renewable energy sources in the world. Our islands, battered by wind and waves, are perfect for tapping into these power sources. Even solar energy has a role to play – solar panels are more efficient in direct sunlight, but can generate power even on a cloudy day. New developments in battery storage mean renewable energy can be used even when the wind isn’t blowing or the sun shining. This provides a fantastic opportunity for the UK to be at the forefront of technological innovation, creating jobs and driving down costs even more.

The rise of renewable energy
In fact, renewable energy is slowly replacing fossil fuels. In 2015 renewables generated more power than coal for the first time ever, and by 2018 was approaching the level of gas generation and is set to continue growing. It’s also getting much cheaper – wind power now costs far less than nuclear, and between 2015 and 2017 the price of offshore wind halved.

All this makes much of the government’s attitude towards renewable energy at odds with its claim to being an international leader on tackling climate change. Cuts to government support for solar power has led to a drop in the number of solar panels being installed, and continued political and financial backing for fossil fuels and nuclear power just don’t make sense. The UK is legally committed to tackling climate change and, by 2050, reducing emissions by 80% compared to 1990. There is pressure on all governments to get to zero carbon emissions even before 2050 if we have any hope of keeping global temperature rises below 1.5 degrees.

Massively increasing renewable energy is the most important way the government is going to meet its commitments, and for us to have a chance of stopping the worst effects of climate change from happening.

Ørsted remains on track to deliver what it’s described as “one of the most ambitious green transformations” in the energy sector after it reported steady growth in H1 2019.

Reporting its half-year results today, Ørsted revealed its H1 earnings to have reached DKK8.8 billion (£1.1 billion), up marginally (2%) on last year’s performance.

That performance means the utility is on track for its full year guidance of earnings between DKK15.5 (£1.9 billion) and DKK16.5 billion (£2 billion).

First half profit did however slip 6% to DKK3.7 billion (£457 million).

It achieved this, chief executive Henrik Poulsen said, undertaking “one of the most ambitious green transformations in the global energy industry”, triggered by a commitment to the Paris Agreement and UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Its share of energy generation determined to be green rose from 71% to 82% in H1 2019, and Poulsen said the firm was on track to meets it target of achieving a 98% reduction in its carbon emission intensity from generation by 2025.

Furthermore, the firm said it was now taking the “next major step” in its decarbonisation agenda by targeting indirect carbon emissions from its business, occurring primarily within its natural gas and consumer-facing units, while phasing out all fossil-fuelled cars from its fleet by 2025.

“We remain very pleased with the operational and financial performance of the company as we continue to expand our position as a global leader in green energy,” Poulsen said.