Forum Topic

Drilling for Gas Isleworth/Brentford

'The government is trying to change the law so big energy companies can drill for gas under our homes - without asking us.  [1] Brentford and Isleworth is sat on top of a seam of gas - and it’s already been earmarked for drilling.[2] So unless these plans are stopped, gas could be sucked from under your home very soon. But together, we could do just that. Because to change the law the government needs MPs to vote for it in parliament. And the vote's in just a few weeks. ....'From an online petition from 38 Degrees. I am just wondering if anybody knows anything more about this - it's the first I've heard!Is it true? Does anybody know of any write-ups etc.?

Anne England ● 3860d23 Comments

I suggest some wind turbines near Gillette Corner.One on the former Gillette site and One on the former petrol station, opposite the Shell petrol station - long since disused and forgotten.

Richard Smith ● 3767d

Even the Thames has one of the strongest tidal forces.With a second Thames barrier being planned it could be great to convert the first one to a tidal power station.

Raymond Havelock ● 3769d

Hi RaymondAbsolutely - a fundamental requirement in engineering is always to try and pull an idea or design apart; to question every aspect and assumption and to improve on weaknesses.  Wave power I don't like because even more than wind, waves are unpredictable (cannot guarantee power generation). Also the force exerted by waves increases at a cubed rate with their height, so very big waves are incredibly destructive.  Putting power generating equipment in the wave zone doesn't fit well with ensuring it a long life.Tidal power though is as near perfect an energy source as you can get.  Guaranteed to peak twice a day, courtesy of the moon, guaranteed to never exceed a calculable maximum, and given than water power is 1700 times as dense as wind power, you can design compact and finely tuned generating equipment.  Oh, and the Anglesey Firth and Pentland Firth have such a good tidal resource you could almost be forgiven thinking god is British.  There are even 410kV power cables connecting them to the grid (thanks to the nearby nuclear power stations).Tidal power is one of those technologies that I believe has a great future.

Lorne Gifford ● 3769d

Very good read, Lorne.But a lot of engineers disagree with varying wave and tidal generation.It needs to be tried at least.We would never have flight if it were not for those who persisted when engineers said it could not be done.

Raymond Havelock ● 3769d

Totally agree

Sarah Markworth ● 3769d

'Wave energy is under researched'Nope, fully researched it, and have to report that from a technical and commercial point of view it's rubbish.  There are far better renewable solutions available, all costed, engineered and ready to roll, it's just that the time for them has yet to come.  The energy industry works on a purely commercial basis, like all shareholder owned companies, and until the price of hydrocarbon energy consistently exceeds the cost of the alternatives then I'm afraid it's a case of oil & gas wins out every time.I actually wrote a small book about the future of hydrocarbons and some of the alternatives. It's available for free download if you google my name.

Lorne Gifford ● 3843d

It simply won't happen in an urban area.The noise that the rigs create are louder than Concordes Olympus engines and won't meet any environmental regulations for noise pollution in residential areas.But there is a high price to pay for every form of generated electricity.The amount of energy and toxins to produce solar panels exceeds the amount of energy they can generate in their working life.Wind farms damage bird migration and affect their navigable abilities.Gas oil and coal extraction leaves fissures in the geology Nuclear has unsolved waste problemsHydrodgen Cells cost more to produce in both resources and fiscal costBatteries cost more to produce than they can returnWave energy is under researchedSo with the planet over populated by a few billion, even a back to basics won't support the populus.We just have to push on but we also have the brains and skills to limit the damage.It's the unchecked  greed and politics of the few that is more dangerous.Which similarly is why we have a housing crisis, Profit is being put on too high a pedastal.

Raymond Havelock ● 3844d

Russell Brand, ridiculous, charade...just omit the brilliant and you've got a perfectly descriptive sentence ;-)

Adam Beamish ● 3844d

On Monday the government voted to push forward with plans to frack across the UK: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-30993915Info from the creators of Gasland II (if you haven't watched the first movie yet, see previous post and watch for free):As more scientific evidence and bans stack up against fracking in both the U.S. and the U.K., the oil and gas industry continues their charade in England, where they are once again denying science by claiming that fracking is anything other than another dirty fossil fuel that contaminates local water and air and exacerbates climate change.In our video of the week Russell Brand brilliantly exposes how ridiculous the industry’s charade of ‘safe-clean energy’ has become in England. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbYZVil3E8E

Nicola Erdpresser ● 3844d

Which park or school playing field do they intend siting their machinery on?  Does anyone know the location of the site?

Sarah Felstead ● 3844d

Oh George Osbourne's father-in-law is an executive in the fracking industry?

Nicola Erdpresser ● 3857d

this was my impression of it when i watched the movie:https://designatweeta.wordpress.com/2013/06/28/environment-fracking/#more-555

Nicola Erdpresser ● 3857d

I'm sorry, but even the father-in-law of our chancellor, who is an exec in the fracking industry, admitted that one can feel the thump, thump of the drilling and extraction process miles before one actually gets to the site itself. So, how would that work in a populated area like Brentford?

Dr Isabelle Grafin Grote ● 3857d

Toxic - yes, Explosions - no, Shortsighted - don't know.  I think it's a case of understanding the benefits you derive from our modern world and weighing them up against the damage we ultimately cause to it.

Lorne Gifford ● 3857d

Pumping toxic chemicals in to the earth to make explosions to release gases,  polluting our water, air and earth. It seems so short-sighted. We only have one planet and once it's gone it's gone.

Nicola Erdpresser ● 3857d

oh, and because I sound a little like a fracking company executive in the above, then just to let you know I'm not.  I'm an engineer who lives in brentford and who works in the offshore oil industry

Lorne Gifford ● 3857d

Given that we have a chalk aquifer below us and then nothing that would act as a cap rock between it and the (potential) gas bearing formation, then yes, fracking would be the name of the game for gas extraction.'Fracking' is fracturing the shale gas formation by injecting very high pressure water mixed with a few chemicals, colloquially called 'slick water'.  The chemicals are detergents and acids which penetrate and break up the shale rock to allow all the trapped gas to run to the wells. It's the chemicals that cause the problems because if you inadvertently run a fracture up to the aquifer you end up with drinking water that is bubbly, acidic and full of detergents. ie not very good.  When you talk about risk, then this is really the only risk there is.  There is no problem with subsidence because the gas is replaced with high pressure water. There's also (next) to no risk of blowouts because the gas pressure is nothing like the high pressures we get from normal reservoirs.There would be disruption though, caused by the drilling site itself which would run 24hrs a day and use high speed diesels for power needs, plus the large number of tankers needed to ship in the chemicals and large number of trucks for drill pipe etc. Plus the drillers themselves - generally an unsavory bunch at the best of times (snigger, personal experience)You'd have to make your own mind up on the balance between the negatives and the positives. The positives of course are that natural gas is the greenest of the fossil fuels, and we all use it for heating and electricity generation so why should we complain about having it in our back yard.  For the negatives then I'm not the best person to ask.

Lorne Gifford ● 3857d

If you haven't watched it already then you can see Gaslands the Movie FOR FREE here:http://www.filmsforaction.org/watch/gasland_2010/It's an entertaining and informative film and gives you a good idea about the effects of fracking

Nicola Erdpresser ● 3857d

Coming to waterway near you if we don't take action...Greenpeace sent this mail out today and it looks like Cameron is pushing forward with plans to frack anywhere, Nicola-----Wow -- David Cameron's plan to force fracking on us just hit a new low.The prime minister wants to change the law to allow fracking firms to drill under our homes. But now he's fast-tracking his plan through Parliament at a blistering rate.Only a HUGE backlash from our MPs can stop him -- and we've got just days to make it happen.Can you forward this email to a friend and ask them to sign the petition? If thousands more of us join in, our MPs will think twice before voting for Cameron's plan.Your friends can sign here: https://secure.greenpeace.org.uk/fracking-vote-2Thanks to public pressure, fracking bans are already in place in France and Bulgaria. And just last month New York joined the list of US states that have taken action to stop the industry.Despite massive opposition, David Cameron is determined to bring fracking to the UK. And right now, he's on the cusp of changing our laws to make it easier to roll it out.But the prime minister's plan can't get the go ahead without approval from MPs -- and inside the halls of Westminster, a backlash is starting. The Scottish National Party and the Green Party have spoken out against Cameron's plan. Amongst Labour and the Lib Dems voices of dissent are on the rise, whilst Conservatives are feeling increasingly nervous as we approach the election. MPs will vote on the issue before the end of this month -- that's far earlier than expected and a move that would slash the time for debate and scrutiny.146,000 people have already asked our MPs to vote against Cameron's plan, but if we're going to make this huge, we'll need as many as possible of us on board.Please ask your friends to sign the petition to all MPs: https://secure.greenpeace.org.uk/fracking-vote-2We're piling the pressure on before the crucial vote. Alongside our friends at 38 Degrees and Friends of the Earth, teams of volunteers will visit several MPs at their offices -- handing over our petition face-to-face. And then next week we'll double our impact by sending letters to every single Westminster MP, telling them who's signed the petition in their constituency and calling on them to vote down Cameron's plan.Together we’ll make this petition unmissable, so please forward this email to your friends today.They can sign at: https://secure.greenpeace.org.uk/fracking-vote-2Let's keep going!

Nicola Erdpresser ● 3857d

Totally agree that it would have to be 100% safe first but  the idea is sound enough imo.

Keith Iddon ● 3859d

I had no idea that Ealing And Brentford and Hounslow are Gas rich.It could be that they will take over parks large and small and get compulsory purchase orders to clear a few sites to drill. Under the proposed laws this could be your home, your local park and so on.As long as it is safe and causes no after effects, and people do not get ripped off or made homeless, fineBut a number of environmental issues exist that have not been fully investigated and resolved.The problems in Surrey with cyanide gas being released after the flooding last winter caused by the volume of water causing seepage shows just how risky it could be in contaminating water that could get into the drinking water system and beyond.We have huge restrictions to keep Nuclear power as safe as possible and yet Fracking carries public health risks and no-one seems bothered a jot to be safe rather than sorry.Like too many things in recent times, the concern for safety is being sidelined as an issue for activists.Safety first, then and only then go for it if needs must.

Raymond Havelock ● 3859d

I'm not saying that there is anything wrong and haven't signed the petition and wouldn't/won't until I know more about it. I'm just surprised I haven't heard or seen anything about it. One assumes we aren't talking fracking here. Does anybody know?

Anne England ● 3860d

What's wrong with the 'big energy companies' extracting gas from under our homes? It is not being used as it is and would seem to be a very good idea.

Keith Iddon ● 3860d