Will fracking make a comeback in Germany in face of gas crunch?

Deutsche Welle ^ | August 18, 2022 | By Stuart Braun

[Oldeconomybuyer]

As the Ukraine war continues, Germany is scrambling to reduce its dependence on Russian gas. Could fracked gas, long taboo in the country, creep into the energy mix?

Temperatures might be soaring across Germany but staying warm this winter without Russian gas — which until the start of the Ukraine war supplied over 50% of annual demand — is already a pressing concern.

Plans to make up the shortfall, if Russian supplies run dry, are already in place: Higher liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports, restarting dormant coal plants, and even delaying the nuclear power phaseout.

But most surprising is talk of exploiting domestic shale gas deposits through fracking, a practice banned in Germany and in a number of European countries due to its potential environmental and climate impacts.

Yet members of Germany's coalition government want fracking to be reconsidered as a potential solution to the coming gas crunch.

Europe's largest economy banned shale gas fracking at home in 2017.

The ban, which was due to be reviewed in 2021 but remains in place, extends to deep-lying "unconventional" shale gas deposits that can only be extracted through hydraulic fracturing.

[Hiddigeigei]

Thorium reactors have been built. They produce very little atomic waste product or pollution, and there’s plenty of thorium available. What could be greener? Why hasn’t this technology been fully developed? Is it because people are frightened by the word “atomic” or is the hidden purpose of the “green movement” to destroy Western civilization and kill off human population?