Sunday Times: Payouts to trigger shale gas bonanza

Cash payments could be made to people living over shale gas deposits as part of a plan to kick-start Britain’s newest energy industry

Officials in the Treasury and the Department of Energy and Climate Change are putting the finishing touches to a package of measures they hope will spur shale gas development. They plan to publish them before parliament rises for summer on July 18.

The incentives will be modelled on those for wind farms. Communities receive £5,000 for each megawatt of capacity. A moderately sized farm of 20MW — less than 10 turbines — will pay out £100,000 a year.

There are also expected to be tax breaks for shale gas developers.

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