Coal Based Methane
"Perma Gas /Strata Gas have put in a Planning Application to drill for methane,
burn coal and run turbines to produce electricity in the Green Belt near Whitmore
and Seabridge, Staffordshire. The application is for 4 test rigs with more
proposed if results prove positive for the company. They intend to use a process
involving fracturing the coal bed using a lot of water and other substances.
The system of water management the company intends to use is not clear, but
a huge amount of waste water is involved. This a very wet area of the country:
fields, roads and villages were flooded several times last year."
- Deborah Mallinder
A public inquiry is to be held. Local campaigners from Madeley, Staffordshire ,
are mounting an effective campaign which has seen support from local councils.
The national implications from this application are huge as are those for the
former coalfield on the Staffordshire/Shropshire border.
Chris Crean