| This report will be paid for in stages as it progresses. I will be looking to get about 6 installments which will focus on the core aspects of the report.Writer can suggest early on how he or she would like to break this down. The report will be covering the whole island of Ireland which covers both the Northern Irish (UK) and Irish governments. The report will have charts and plots from packages like excel to accompany the data. I wish for it to cover the areas outlined below in clearly defined sub headings. These are areas like the science behind shale gas extraction. The environmental side of shale extraction in general and for Ireland. (I wish for this to be balanced and not a outward attack on it which is so easily found online) . The economic side of the potential for Ireland if this source of energy were to be used. The detail needs to be relevant without waffle and written with a view of it looking professional.
abstract
The primary purpose of my research is to evaluate and explore the process of “fracking” or hydraulic fracturing and if it is a potential solution to Irelands energy needs. Through my research, I wish to find out the answers to questions related to the possible implementation of fracking in Ireland as a possible energy source. To come with a detailed and though conclusion, I will be exploring studies on areas such as environmental impact, potential health risks and looking at such findings in relation to proposed sites in Ireland. Another angle I wish to look at in detail is financial related studies such as the size of potential Irish deposits, locality, conflicts of interest, public opinion, potential employment and potential revenues for the country.
Objectives:
The purpose of this report will be to look at shale in Ireland, and see the risks and rewards.
My aim from this report is to gain a wider understanding of both the positive and negative arguments in relation to fracking and explore the impacts that these arguments will have in the context of Ireland. By the end of this research I aim to have concluded from an informed position in relation to Ireland if Fracking is a solution to the nation’s vulnerable energy position. Several sites have been identified in Ireland for Shale gas extraction and buy studying the impacts and progress of these sites in other areas I will look at and access how such works will affect the environment and infrastructure of these areas.
Minister for Energy and Natural Resources Pat Rabbitte called the advent of unconventional gas a “game changer” April 2013
Shale Gas is a controversial energy source which has gathered huge investment in the United States in recent years, reducing the countries need for imported energy supplies and going some way in the effort to stabilize the economy.
Shale gas has now been detected in the Northwest Ireland, which comprises of the republic counties Leitrim, Roscommon, Sligo, Cavan, Donegal and Fermanagh in Northern Ireland. The United Kingdom has already issued licenses to companies looking to exploit this resource and now there is interest in doing the same in the Republic of Ireland. The prospect of this has led to many scare stories from the US and has left public opinion divided.
The companies involved in fracking say these stories are unfounded and the process is clean. They also say that the process could deliver much needed energy security to Ireland for several decades’ whist providing jobs and boosting revenue at the exchequer. There are also claims this could reduce our costs and dependency of energy from global flashpoints and give the local areas much needed economic boosts.
Ireland does need energy, it needs energy as cheap and as fast as feasibly possible and during the purpose of this report will be to look at shale in Ireland, and see if the rewards outweigh the risks. To do this I will look at the areas where the extraction in speculated to take place and see the impact this will make on the local economy as well as a national scale. I will be looking into the environmental impacts and see how potentially damaging this could be in a country such as Ireland so dependent on its land and agricultural. During the report I will look at arguments which dismiss the negative science around Fracking along with the negative reports and try to estimate what kind of impact that would have if such things were to take place here, at any level. I will also look into public opinion in the region, effects on Irelands CO2 emissions and the kind of boost it could have on the economy. Other areas I will be exploring are Shale gas investment returns, lifecycle of the deposits and impact when compared to other resources at Ireland’s disposal such as wind and wave. |
