Saturday, 14 March 2015

"The fracking village is going 100% solar"

On the one hand, 'the biggest deal to drill for shale gas' in the UK has just been agreed:

The leader of the frack takes a leap in the dark

Ineos made a statement of intent this week by striking the biggest deal yet seen in Britain to drill for shale gas. But there are doubts whether it will ever be viable or if environmentalists will ever be placated

TOM BAWDEN Friday 13 March 2015

After much fanfare about its intentions to frack heavily in the UK, Ineos announced its first big deal in the sector this week – the biggest transaction the country’s fledgling shale industry has seen.

The Swiss-based chemicals group, controlled by the billionaire Jim Ratcliffe, plans to spend £168m in the next few years drilling for shale gas in north-west England after striking a deal with its rival IGas. The deal hands Ineos stakes of 50 to 60 per cent in seven of IGas’s licences in the region, giving it access to a quarter of a million acres of possible shale gas reserves, including sites near Chester and Ellesmere Port in Cheshire.

Ineos will also acquire IGas’s interest in acreage near the chemical group’s Grangemouth refining and petrochemical complex in Scotland (ABOVE), where it hopes to use any shale gas produced to supply the plant with cheap energy. “We think we can be the biggest in the UK in terms of shale acreage and this deal is not the end for us,” said Gary Haywood, head of Ineos’ oil and gas production unit. “In order to be successful, you need to be a player of scale ... there’s a lot of acreage and there will be areas that won’t work – so we need to be diversified. And also to keep the costs down.”

The leader of the frack takes a leap in the dark - Business Analysis & Features - Business - The Independent

On the other hand, the village most associated with the campaign against fracking is going in very different direction:

One solar roof connected, two more on the way

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Something good can work

Great news from Balcombe in Sussex, where residents are working to repower the village with 100% clean electricity.

Hot on the heels of their first solar installation, they just opened their first public share offer to fund solar panels on two schools. In just five days they've already raised two thirds of their £49k target! It's locals only this time, but soon everyone will be able to get in on the action.

But time is tight. This share offer closes at the end of March, so if you know anyone living in Sussex, forward them this email right now!

This little village stands for something bigger. They're showing that even on the 'front line of fracking', ordinary people can get together and build a cleaner, cleverer energy system. And if that's not worth supporting, we don't know what is!

The share offer

Sussex residents can invest in Balcombe's solar co-op from £250.

Learn more

Meet the schools

Balcombe primary and Turners Hill primary will be powered by solar very soon.

Meet the schools

10:10 brings people together to do positive, practical stuff that helps tackle climate change. Our Back Balcombe project is helping the 'fracking village' repower with 100% clean electricity, and getting millions more people involved in community energy.