UK Report Says Shale Could Help Cut Emissions
A report by a prestigious think-tank at the London School of Economics says that shale gas could help meet environmental targets.
But the paper, from the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, warns that it should not be assumed that the gas price will remain low.
Samuela Bassi and colleagues from several research institutes found that it was feasible for the UK to "decarbonise" its power with gas including unconventional sources, partly to replace coal usage in the near future.
Gas-powered plants emit less than half the carbon dioxide per kilowatt hour of coal-fired stations.
The LSE-led investigation concluded that utilitites would be unwise to place too much dependence on gas because this could make it more difficult to meet the UK’s 2050 target of cutting greenhouse gases by at least 80% from 1990 levels.
“There is a very clear logic to using gas as a transition fuel because over 20% of carbon dioxide emissions in 2011, the last year we have data for, came from burning coal,” said one of the study’s authors, Bob Ward of the Grantham Institute.
The report states: “Analysis reveals that substantial investment in gas on the assumption of low prices and large unconventional reserves is a risky option. A lower risk option would be a ‘dash’ for smart gas, where natural gas is used judiciously in those areas where it offers the greatest value in decarbonising the power sector.”
It ends by saying: “In sum, natural gas will continue to be important during the transition to a low-carbon electricity system. But if the UK is to meet carbon targets in a least-cost way, there is only a limited window for baseload generation from gas-fired power stations with unabated emissions, during which time it should replace coal. Gas can only play a more significant role beyond the 2020s if CCS technology is deployed on a commercial scale."
Other participants in the report were the Institute for Climate Change at Imperial College London, and the Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy at the University of Leeds.