Ten days or so ago IGas released studies suggesting that shale gas resources in Great Britain are considerably higher than previously thought. I understand that the report said nothing about commercial development but there is clearly the potential for extraction of indigenous shale gas, possibly at advantagous cost.
This really points up the conundrum facing the government in its ongoing development of energy policy. The UK has some of the highest energy costs in the world, and since energy is the start of many a value chain this has a direct impact on the competitiveness of UK industry. But HMG is pursuing a low carbon energy route map (although recent decision might make you doubt that). It's difficult to see how the current crop of low carbon sources - wind, nuclear, solar, even CCS - will bring costs down.
Crunch time may come soon - could we be nearing the time when HMG pulls back from its domestic climate change goals in favour of ensuring that developing nations minimise their CO2 emissions?
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