Duhamel backtracks after frack attack
Wednesday 19 February 2014
Jersey's Environment Minister has changed his mind on fracking in Jersey just two weeks after claiming it had potential.
A fortnight ago Deputy Rob Duhamel revealed to ITV that he believed fracking - the process of extracting gases from deep underground by blasting water into rock at high pressure - would provide both a tax opportunity for the States and a way of hooking into cheaper energy reserves.
Now he says Jersey's geology isn't suited to the process and that fracking won't be included in the latest Energy Plan he will shortly be bringing before the Assembly.
Deputy Duhamel was responding to questions tabled by Gerard Baudains asking him to commit to a "comprehensive study" of the potential risks of fracking locally before it went any further.In his response Deputy Duhamel wrote: "The geology beneath Jersey is not conducive to the formation of hydrocarbon gases that are commonly obtained by the process of fracking. In the absence of organic material in the shales, it is highly unlikely that any shale gas is present beneath the Island.
"I shall shortly be bringing before the Assembly the Energy Plan: Pathway 2050. This document outlines a low carbon future for Jersey and seeks to reduce the Island's carbon emissions by up to 80% by 2050 based on a 1990 baseline. Within that framework I do not anticipate the use of (hydro-carbon rich) gas generated from fracking either on Jersey or in its territorial waters."Environmental campaigners are against fracking because they say it pollutes water sources and can even cause earthquakes.
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