Energydesk
Fracking in the UK: FOI documents reveal Lord Browne lobbied to water down Fracking regulations
FOI documents obtained by Energydesk reveal that Lord Browne personally intervened in a legal battle between Cuadrilla and the Environment Agency (EA) over the environmental regulation of fracking.
The news comes after The Times reported in May on an interview with the head of the Environment Agency, Lord Smith, in which he revealed the go-ahead for fracking had been delayed due to a legal wrangle between the regulator and Cuadrilla over the environmental rules governing fracking.
Fracking explainers abound
Energydesk has a series of stories on fracking, but we're not the only ones. The Economist and The Guardian are the latest to publish explainers this morning.
Not fracking - UK
War over 'secret windfarm evidence'
A row appears to have broken out between the Conservative led Department of Rural Affairs and the Lib Dem led Department of Energy and Climate Change over a report about wind turbines. There are, apparently, fears in DECC that DEFRA will use the report to attack the technology which the Secretary of State for the Environment Owen Paterson has described as 'a sham'. DEFRA says DECC is being 'ideological'. We say, handbags.
More problems with the Green Deal
British Gas has launched a new website to tell people if they are eligible, but things still aren't going swimmingly, says The Telegraph.
Not Fracking - World
Japan approves 19GW of commercial solar in 2012
New incentives mean Japan is likely to install more solar power next year than any other country. Taking into account intermittency 19GW of solar is likely to generate a slightly greater amount of power than the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant, though not at baseload.
Polish coal producer to seek bailout
POLAND'S Kompania Weglowa, the biggest coal producer in the European Union, is considering asking a state agency for a bailout due to the high cost of coal extraction in Poland compared to imports.
Fukushima springs another leak
“Two years down the line from the accident, I would expect there would have been better plans,” Tom O’Sullivan, an analyst with Tokyo-based energy consultant Mathyos told Bloomberg. “It’s a huge logistical challenge and perhaps the Japanese government should have gotten involved at an earlier stage.”
Dong cuts jobs
Statoil sells North Sea assets
Statoil, Norway’s state-controlled oil company, said on Monday that it would sell a package of North Sea assets to OMV, a smaller Austrian producer, for $2.65 billion.
Fracking
Fracking protests slammed in many newspapers
The BBC reports that The Times, Telegraph and The Mail slammed protestors - including Green MP Caroline Lucas - as 'eco loonies'. The Independent and The Guardian took a more favorable view. The BBC, of course, simply reported that Caroline Lucas has been released on bail and promptly appeared to make her case on the Today programme.
Sun accuses protesters of targeting wrong site
The Sun has accused protesters of targeting the 'wrong site' because drilling in Balcombe is for oil, not gas. Energydesk has reported previously on what is happening in Balcombe where exploratory drilling may - or may not - lead to fracking for oil at a later stage.
Cameron accused of inflaming protests
Speaking to the FT Caroline Flint has accused David Cameron of inflaming anti-fracking protests by talking as if the gas and oil was 'literally coming out of the ground now' rather than being more than a decade away.
A quarter of Conservatives want fracking in their area
Carbon Brief reports that Despite strong support for shale gas extraction from the Prime Minister, polling by Carbon Brief indicates shale gas infrastructure has a way to go to become popular with UK voters. Most, including Conservative voters, would much rather have a wind turbine in their backyard than a shale gas well.
Councils demand more money for fracking
Business Green report on a Local Government Association claim that "What's been proposed is not a substantial enough offer, especially when you compare it to what companies pay abroad," he said.
US states seek exemptions from new fracking rules
Wyoming and other US states are seeking to preserve their role in regulating shale gas extraction and be exempted from tough new US federal rules setting minimum standards set minimum standards for wellbore construction, disclosure of chemicals and water management for fracking on federal lands.
