The Good Side of Fracking

Contrary to popular belief it is not true that everything to do with our energy consumption is harmful to the environment. Although it is not possible right now to have a completely green economy there are still methods that are better than others. Fracking can therefore be considered a gateway resource to a lower carbon economy and increased energy security for the future.

Here are some advantages to choosing fracking in the UK:

• Fracking is one of the cheapest forms of energy.  It has the potential to significantly bring down energy prices as it is 1/5 the price of oil and 1/3 the price of solar power. This will not only benefit the consumer but will also have a positive effect on the economy.

Cost of different types of energy. Source. 

• Using shale gas as an energy source will help significantly reduce carbon emissions as well as other greenhouse gases (Royal Academy ofEngineering, 2012), this will create a bridge to a lower carbon society based on renewable resources such as solar and wind power.  However, variety of energy sources could still reduce CO₂ emissions, it doesn’t have to be all renewable as long as it is not all oil. Fracking is a valuable part of the energy mix.
• It will create thousands of local jobs. The government has estimated that the fracking industry could create over 64,000 jobs in the UK. 
• It will increase energy security (EERA, 2013) by making the UK more independent, our vast resource of natural gas will dramatically reduce dependency on foreign oil especially from Russia.
• It is considered a solution to peak oil.

For more information on the pros and cons of fracking please read this paper by Jackson et al. (2014) which outlines all the environmental costs and benefits of fracking for shale gas.