Llandow has great potential for shale gas fracking. Llandow’s geology has sandstone strata from the right geological era needed in order for shale gas to be exploited and for it to be of economic advantage Dr Caroline Graham, 2013.
With climate change becoming a headlining topic of the world today, it is important that as a community we try to keep the amount of CO₂ to a minimum or at least to stabilise the amount released. It is therefore believed that shale gas could be used to maintain this goal as it has been shown that from 2006-2011, US CO₂ consumption had declined by 7.7% and this was the greatest reduction in CO₂ emissions than any other country Michael Stephenson et al. The main reason for this is because shale gas burns cleaner than oil due to the lack of inorganic impurities within the gas. It also has very low sulphur emissions. This therefore suggests that Llandow should undeniably go ahead with the exploration of shale gas as it will not only lead to a reduction in the amount of CO₂ emitted in South Wales, but will result in a cleaner atmosphere. Likewise if you wanted to make this proposal even more environmentally viable, instead of transporting the water used for fracking by truck, using underground pipes would mean less CO₂ would be used in the transportation of the water needed for fracking and with the Bristol channel being very close to Llandow this would be easily accessible. Also this will result in less congestion caused by trucks delivering the water. This is important as most of the energy used in the UK is fuel for transportation DECC, ECUK Table 1.05 and therefore by trying to lessen the amount used in transport, less CO₂ will be released into the atmosphere. To add to this, the fracking involves water and does not involve burning so throughout the process of obtaining shale gas, no harmful greenhouse gases are released, which furthermore reduces the amount of greenhouse gases adding to the issue of global warming. If you wanted to minimise the amount of CO₂ released even further, planting trees will make the proposal more carbon neutral and would also improve the visual impact of the fracking tower. In addition if the well castings are properly cemented the environmental issues are insignificant as 98% of the fluid used for fracking is made up of water and sand, and only 2% or less is made up of 3-12 chemical additives which are commonly associated with little/no health risks. This is illustrated in figure 1. Although many are classified as toxic, only 1 which is ethylene glycol can be harmful/fatal if swallowed Barry Stevens 2011. This therefore suggests that the health risks of fracking are minimal, which is a further advantage for this proposal to go ahead. I also think it is important to make the most of what is available to us because if it wasn’t for human intervention the gas wouldn’t be able to be drawn from the rock and as the UK is expected to run out of oil and coal in the next 5 years James Vincent 2014, it is important to take advantage of the gas available as a security purpose for the future. There will also be very low visual impact as the majority of the fracking takes place underground and therefore would not act as an eyesore for the area.
Additionally, the unemployment rate for the South East of Wales is 7.4% which is greater than the Welsh national unemployment rate of 6.7% statswales.wales.gov.uk. It is therefore important to reduce this number and Shale gas exploration may be the answer. Shale gas is cheap and with the addition of the £1000 incentive for the inconvenience is a fundamental reason for this project to go ahead. The cheap price means cheap manufacturing resulting in a spinoff of more jobs directly and indirectly, which will boost the economy of the area and may help further develop the town. An example of an indirect job that could be produced from this, is the production of ethane from methane to produce PVC which is one of the most popular plastics used in the world today PVC.org. This will furthermore boost the economic value of the area as the methane produced when shale gas is burnt can not only be used for local energy generation, but in the production of PVC which can then be exported around the world. Moreover, this service is very technologically advanced as the world is still in the early stages of exploration Ed Hough, 2013 so, for this proposal to go ahead would be ground breaking and would certainly improve the economic value of the area. Likewise, with energy prices increasing around the world we need a constant, reliable energy supply that is cheap and from the evidence highlighted above shale gas fits in perfect. Additionally, as highlighted in figure 2, shale gas is much cheaper than other sources of energy such as crude oil, which therefore suggests that using shale gas as an energy source is much more advantageous than any other energy source.
Furthermore, another reason for this proposal to go ahead is the element that by having a shale gas exploitation service very close to the town, security of supply would be sufficient and inevitable thus making the town much more energy secure. By Llandow having this secure energy supply, it would not only be securely benefitical for Llandow but would also be confirmation of guaranteed energy security for Wales as a whole.
To conclude, it is important that this proposal progresses to the next stage as it will not only enhance the area by attracting new technology and improving job opportunities, but will also better the environment and assist in managing the crisis of global warming. Additionally, it is important that the risks that may be associated with fracking are managed while exploiting the benefits of shale gas.