Cuadrilla has received a formal warning from the Environment Agency after the regulator found that the fracking firm broke the law over the storage of waste from its Lancashire shale gas site. In a letter published yesterday, the regulator said it believed that Cuadrilla’s subsidiary had “committed . . . offences” by contravening the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and Hazardous Waste Regulations 2005. The regulator said that it had “issued this warning letter as a response” to the offences but reserved the right to take further action if the company committed further offences.
Times 16th Aug 2018 read more »
Natural gas is still often described as “the fuel of the future”. If you are selling turbines for gas-fired power generation, it cannot feel that way. Sales of gas turbines have fallen sharply, under pressure from low-cost renewable energy, and are expected to remain weak for at least another couple of years. While the market has been shrinking, it has also been becoming more competitive. For the largest and most advanced turbines, bought by utilities and other power producers, there are only three significant manufacturers: General Electric of the US, Siemens of Germany and Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems of Japan.
FT 16th Aug 2018 read more »
The amount of water used at fracking wells in parts of the US has increased by up to 770 per cent, sparking fears the industry could cause water shortages in arid regions. There was also a massive increase of up to 1440 per cent in the amount of toxic wastewater generated in the first year of operation at fracked oil and gas wells over the same period. A study charting the intensification of the controversial fossil fuel extraction technique looked at changes in its “water footprint” between 2011 and 2016. Previous work had suggested that fracking does not use more water than other energy sources, but this more comprehensive investigation found that future operations may not be sustainable due to the volume of water required. The authors of the study warned that if rapid intensification continues, the industry’s water use in some regions could be 50-times greater by the year 2030, which would lead to water shortages.
Independent 15th Aug 2018 read more »
