Schaliegas versus duurzame energie

Als de voortekenen niet bedriegen, staan we aan de vooravond van een nieuwe energierevolutie, waarbij schaliegas, dat zich in grote hoeveelheden in de Europese bodem bevindt, een aanzienlijk deel van onze energiebehoefte zal kunnen dekken. De productiekosten zijn beduidend lager dan die van duurzame energie, waardoor de plannen om het aandeel daarvan in onze energievoorziening te verhogen, wel eens danig in de knel zouden kunnen komen.

Onder de titel, 'Gold rush for shale gas or false dawn?', schrijft Benny Peiser:

A spectre is haunting Europe — the shale gas revolution that promises to shake up green energy and climate policies.

Enkele citaten:

The abundance of shale gas and other forms of unconventional gas discovered and extracted in the United States has prompted a new American energy boom and a global shale rush. It has also caused a dramatic drop in gas prices. Could the same happen in Europe?

At the European Union's energy summit in February, no other item on the agenda was as controversial as the impact of shale exploration. Despite protests from the green lobby, EU energy ministers agreed that the potentially game-changing nature of shale would be carefully considered in the next few months.

Recent studies estimate that there are huge deposits of shale gas in Europe too. Poland, France and the Ukraine alone may have supplies sufficient to last for 200 or 300 years. No wonder then that many European countries see shale as a golden opportunity to generate cheap energy as well as reduce their reliance on imports from Russia and the Middle East.

What is more, the financial crisis is forcing European governments to cut subsidies and incentives for green energy programmes which are not sustainable, let alone during a prolonged period of austerity. Companies too are reducing their green energy investments as natural gas is becoming ever more attractive, increasingly shifting investment away from renewables.

Faced with a looming shale boom, the EU's green lobby is seeking ways to protect Europe's frail and heavily subsidised green energy sector. In sharp contrast, the shale revolution has progressed without any taxpayer-funded subsidies, government targets or tariffs. It is driven exclusively by new technologies that make shale exploration profitable.

Due to massive shale gas finds and steadily increasing supply, gas prices have dropped dramatically which is having positive knock-on effects for industry, households and energy security at the same time. Europe's conventional climate and energy strategy now faces a huge challenge. Governments would be well advised not to squander this golden shale gas opportunity.

Lees verder hier.

En zo is het! Maar we mogen het beleidsmomentum, dogmatisme en de onverschilligheid ten aanzien van de wensen van de bevolking – namelijk energie tegen betaalbare prijzen – van de EU natuurlijk nooit onderschatten.