Never mind not in my back yard, fracking could help solve our energy problems

Well done to the panel of independent experts commissioned by the Scottish Government on producing Talking Fracking, an excellent examination of the pros and cons of fracking. Anyone wishing to express an informed opinion for the government consultation on fracking should read it and respond.

For those who don’t have time to read the 63 pages, my summary of their findings is as follows: Even on best case sce- nario of switching to renewables, we will need natural gas for decades to come. 79 per cent of Scottish homes use mains gas for heating. Declining North Sea gas production means that by 2025 we will need to import 67 per cent of our gas from outside the UK.

On a medium case scenario, fracking will make a modest contribution to Scotland’s economy and jobs. It will contribute to overall energy supply security, particularly to the Central Belt population where most of the gas is burned. It will be a boost for the Central Belt petrochemical industry, which is already reliant on imported shale gas.

The panel found that risks to the environment and infrastructure were generally low and could be managed to reduce them further. There was insufficient evidence of health risk to make an assessment so a precautionary approach to managing this would be required. The regulatory structures to achieve all of this are largely in place. Fracked gas should not increase emissions because it will simply replace imported gas – further reducing the emissions caused by transporting that gas. Site HGV traffic would be much lower than for wind farm construction and approximately 4 per cent of a large distribution centre warehouse.

I did not see any comparison of the risks of fracking on land compared to offshore extraction operations.

From my experience of drilling west of Shetland and in environmentally sensitive and densely populated areas onshore in the Netherlands, I believe that fracking onshore is by its very nature far more benign, less likely to go wrong and much easier to deal with if it does.

Our government already allows – and indeed, stakes – a great deal on oil and gas exploration in the North Sea, with all the risks it entails. There is a moral case for having oil and gas extraction activity close to those that use most of it (those that burn it, should earn it.)if fracking is not allowed, it will be because Central Belt Nimbies are more likely to vote SNP than seabirds, seals and Shetlanders. MARK OPENSHAW Earlswells Road Cults, Aberdeen