Tweet
Coalition backs coal-based energy revolution
Business and energy minister Michael Fallon sets up working party to investigate "coal gasification" to take advantage of coal seems on Britain's coast
Michael Fallon, the business and energy minister, has set up a working party to investigate the process. Photo: CHRISTOPHER PLEDGER
9:30PM GMT 14 Dec 2013
40 Comments
Commentary: UK's next offshore energy fortune lies in coal
The Government has signalled its support for a new coal-based mining technique which could satisfy Britain’s energy needs for 200 years.
Michael Fallon, the business and energy minister, revealed this weekend that, after a meeting with one of the providers of the technique, he has now set up a working party to investigate the process.
“Coal gasification” would take advantage of the major coal seams which run under the seabed off Britain’s coast. By pumping oxygen and steam into the seams, gas is released from the coal which can be collected and used to supply the National Grid.
Sources close to Mr Fallon said that the minister saw “exciting potential” for the technique as it has a lower carbon footprint than burning the coal directly.
Related Articles
Mr Fallon’s review came after a meeting with Algy Cluff, one of the pioneers of North Sea oil exploration in the Seventies, who is now the chief executive of Cluff Natural Resources. The business is listed on the Aim market and is looking at commercial models for extracting gas from the coal seams.
“Underground coal gasification (UCG) is in its infancy and I am keen to create a regulatory structure which helps those with ambitions to exploit our home-grown energy sources,” Mr Fallon said.
“This can only be done if protection of the environment and health and safety remain paramount.
“The Coal Authority is in the lead as the freehold owner of the coal resource and the licensing body for the exploitation of coal. I am setting up a working group involving DECC [the Department of Energy and Climate Change] and the Coal Authority to assess the state of the UCG development and the licensing processes.
“It will also consider the interaction between UCG and other technologies such as shale gas and coal bed methane. I look forward to considering its findings.”
Coal gasification is seen as less controversial than fracking as it takes place offshore, often many miles out to sea. Estimates by the British Geological Survey (BGS) suggest that because the coal seams are so thick there could be up to 17bn tonnes to be exploited.
“[It’s] enough to last for several hundred years,” the BGS says on its website.
“The gas contains both methane and hydrogen and it can be processed into a high quality diesel. This syn-diesel has greater environmental benefits than diesel derived from oil since it has a higher octane value and produces less nitrogen oxides and particulates when used.”
Writing in The Sunday Telegraph, Mr Cluff says there is significant potential in the new technology. “It is now chillingly clear that the UK, once so blessed with energy, is heading rapidly from feast to famine,” Mr Cluff said, referring to fears that Britain could be heading for an energy crisis because of the high levels of imported gas the country relies on.
“The coal lies around our shores – billions and billions of tonnes of coal.
“That coal is not only there but, thanks to the astonishing evolution of horizontal oil drilling technology, it can also be cheaply, quickly and safely converted into gas and piped ashore.”
Business and energy minister Michael Fallon sets up working party to investigate "coal gasification" to take advantage of coal seems on Britain's coast
Michael Fallon, the business and energy minister, has set up a working party to investigate the process. Photo: CHRISTOPHER PLEDGER9:30PM GMT 14 Dec 2013
40 Comments Commentary: UK's next offshore energy fortune lies in coal
The Government has signalled its support for a new coal-based mining technique which could satisfy Britain’s energy needs for 200 years.
Michael Fallon, the business and energy minister, revealed this weekend that, after a meeting with one of the providers of the technique, he has now set up a working party to investigate the process.
“Coal gasification” would take advantage of the major coal seams which run under the seabed off Britain’s coast. By pumping oxygen and steam into the seams, gas is released from the coal which can be collected and used to supply the National Grid.
Sources close to Mr Fallon said that the minister saw “exciting potential” for the technique as it has a lower carbon footprint than burning the coal directly.
Related Articles
- UK's next offshore energy fortune lies in coal
14 Dec 2013 - Communities promised £100,000 to 'smooth way' for more fracking
10 Dec 2013 - Kentz takes $435m slice of US shale
09 Dec 2013 - How US shale gas could re-energise Grangemouth
08 Dec 2013 - Shell axes plans for $20bn flagship plant in US
05 Dec 2013 - BP and Shell among oil firms Iran wants back
04 Dec 2013 - GE Capital: more than just commercial finance GE
Mr Fallon’s review came after a meeting with Algy Cluff, one of the pioneers of North Sea oil exploration in the Seventies, who is now the chief executive of Cluff Natural Resources. The business is listed on the Aim market and is looking at commercial models for extracting gas from the coal seams.
“Underground coal gasification (UCG) is in its infancy and I am keen to create a regulatory structure which helps those with ambitions to exploit our home-grown energy sources,” Mr Fallon said.
“This can only be done if protection of the environment and health and safety remain paramount.
“The Coal Authority is in the lead as the freehold owner of the coal resource and the licensing body for the exploitation of coal. I am setting up a working group involving DECC [the Department of Energy and Climate Change] and the Coal Authority to assess the state of the UCG development and the licensing processes.
“It will also consider the interaction between UCG and other technologies such as shale gas and coal bed methane. I look forward to considering its findings.”
Coal gasification is seen as less controversial than fracking as it takes place offshore, often many miles out to sea. Estimates by the British Geological Survey (BGS) suggest that because the coal seams are so thick there could be up to 17bn tonnes to be exploited.
“[It’s] enough to last for several hundred years,” the BGS says on its website.
“The gas contains both methane and hydrogen and it can be processed into a high quality diesel. This syn-diesel has greater environmental benefits than diesel derived from oil since it has a higher octane value and produces less nitrogen oxides and particulates when used.”
Writing in The Sunday Telegraph, Mr Cluff says there is significant potential in the new technology. “It is now chillingly clear that the UK, once so blessed with energy, is heading rapidly from feast to famine,” Mr Cluff said, referring to fears that Britain could be heading for an energy crisis because of the high levels of imported gas the country relies on.
“The coal lies around our shores – billions and billions of tonnes of coal.
“That coal is not only there but, thanks to the astonishing evolution of horizontal oil drilling technology, it can also be cheaply, quickly and safely converted into gas and piped ashore.”
Comment