Water quality possible worry for Warwickshire

A process similar to fracking could spark controversy in Warwickshire due to its potential impact on the region’s water quality.

Cluff Natural Resources Plc has applied for the first UK onshore licence to practise Underground Coal Gasification (UCG) in the area.

UCG is a method of gas extraction that converts coal into gas that can be used to generate power, offering an alternative to coal mining.

This application of the process to the Warwickshire countryside could ignite protests similar to those currently taking place against fracking in Balcombe, West Sussex.

Policing such protests was described by Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner Katy Bourne as a “national issue”.

A number of UCG trials since 1993, on several continents such as North America and Asia, have had to be called off due to concerns about the contamination of groundwater with carcinogens such as benzene.

Algy Cluff, founder of Cluff Natural Resources, has claimed that UCG is “safe and unlike fracking”.

However, if the company’s application for the licence proves successful, there are concerns that the water quality of an area of similar size to Coventry, around 100 square kilometres, could be contaminated with harmful chemicals.

The affected area will stop just seven miles short of Leamington Spa, home to thousands of Warwick students and famous for the quality of its spa water, which can still be sampled at the Royal Pump Rooms and Baths.

Another complaint about UCG is its reputation for disrupting rural landscapes with industrial structures.

Residents of Warwickshire commented that “it will be a blot on the landscape”, and “some people will not rest until our countryside is all gone”.

Discontent has begun to spread concerning the application, with opposition ‘Frack Off’ stating that this is merely the first of many “fracking” projects the UK’s coalition government intends to license in the UK.

Matthew McNeany of Warwick People and Planet said: “UCG fails to contribute to lowering carbon emissions whilst incorporating many of the local environmental concerns associated with hydraulic fracking.

“There are no examples of a successful clean decommissioning of a UCG plant. As a testing ground for this unproven technology Warwickshire makes little sense compared to previous testing areas like the Australian or Mongolian deserts.”

Second-year Warwick University student Harry Haslam commented: “In the UK we need to be looking at new ways of generating energy, but sacrificing water quality could mean UCG is not the way to do it.”

However, fellow second year Louise Bond offered a contrasting view on UCG and fracking, saying: “In general, I think fracking is a good idea because it produces gas for new power stations, and would reduce the need for new nuclear power stations.

“In my opinion they have the potential to be more harmful to the environment, producing nuclear waste which we still do not know how to store safely.”