The energy sector in the U.K. could be set for a major shakeup if the first significant shale gas discovery in the north of England is the start of bigger things to come. If natural gas were to be cheaper and more abundant than expected in the next couple of decades, the relative cost to consumers of subsidizing nuclear and renewable electricity would soar. Not something the public would accept easily as the years of austerity grind on. No wonder some environmental groups were reported to be “dismayed” by Cuadrilla’s discovery. --James Herron, The Wall Street Journal, 22 September 2011
