The Scotsman: Fracking ‘could boost Scottish economy’

Fracking could provide “positive economic impacts” for Scotland, according to the conclusions of an expert panel set up by the Scottish Government a year ago to investigate the controversial energy source.

The Expert Scientific Panel, publishing on the same day as the UK government announced the opening of the bidding process for licences to extract shale gas, concluded there may be “significant reserves” in Scotland and the potential for development of unconventional gas “at scale”, saying that the industry would create new jobs.

It also said that the social and environmental impacts of fracking – a method of extracting shale gas – could be “mitigated” if they are carefully considered at the planning application stage. But critics warned that there would not be a “US-style bonanza” north of the Border and claimed the potential environmental dangers of the practice outweighed the benefits.
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