Oil and gas exploration company, Third Energy, the business tasked with fracking in North Yorkshire, has been taken over by Wolfland Group, which specialise in green and renewable energy solutions and are based in both the UK and Ireland.
Wolfland Group completed the acquisition in early January 2022, effectively halting any further fossil fuel exploration in the region after more than 25 years, with a fresh new focus on green energy, including solar farm plans, geothermal energy at a former well site, and the possibility of producing green hydrogen and carbon storage.
Leading figure in the anti-fracking campaign, Steve Mason, is now a director of Wolfland Group and has been integral in driving forward the flip from fracking to clean, green energy, after a meeting of minds with Third Energy’s Managing Director, Russell Hoare.
Steve Mason, a director at Wolfland Group, said: “This is only just the start of our journey, with positive climate solutions at the heart of our mission. The recent energy crisis has shown that we must be energy independent as a nation and that fossil fuels need to be urgently replaced by clean renewable energy supplies which will lead to cheaper energy and help us tackle climate change.
“It will also give communities still under threat from fracking – like Fermanagh in Northern Ireland, a boost of knowing that a transition to clean energy is already underway and that there are alternatives. There’s no turning back.
“We believe we’re now a real-life example of walking the talk and turning stranded fossil fuel assets into green energy solutions. We’re excited about the future.”
The Chief Executive of Wolfland Group, Mike O’Shea, said: “With the end of COP26 producing little focus for tangible climate action, this seems the perfect timing. The government appear to be talking seriously about green energy.
“If we get this right and we drive the green agenda, taking a dirty fossil fuel fracking company and flipping it into a green energy beacon. I think it’s an amazing opportunity.”
Russell Hoare of Third Energy said: “The previous management company (York Energy) wanted us to look for renewable energy opportunities, but we had a situation where our shareholder was actively pursuing oil and gas development in the US and Ukraine. It was difficult to find green investment with the balance still swinging towards fossil fuels.
“Now we can say we’re on a cleaner path. We’ve absolutely no interest in fossil fuels now and we can move forward, open the right kind of doors and transition to a sustainable future.”
Looking towards the future, North Yorkshire-based Third Energy is looking to produce green hydrogen at their Knapton site, using either mains or piped-in formation water, which is present in large quantities in the old wells. Third Energy would use electricity from the grid connection and, if production was successful, hydrogen could be supplied to HGV, waste removal vehicles, trains or into the grid. Third Energy also has an existing pipeline network that could be used to transport water and hydrogen production.
Other projects that are being considered include using old wells to store carbon or hydrogen.
The company retained staff from the fossil fuel side of the business, focusing on education and transition into green energy, with a specific interest in helping local schools and businesses on their path to net-zero. A previous apprenticeship scheme is hoped to be reinstated, along with a renewable energy education centre at Knapton.
Steve Mason concluded: “One way or another, these old wells will be used for something else to help the country transition towards a net-zero future.
“As a local resident and now director of a fracking-company-turned-renewables-company, our priority will be to connect back with our local community, explain all of the positive changes – especially after our community was once divided by Third Energy’s fracking plans. But we won’t be changing the name: we think it’s still really relevant.
“The name Third Energy perfectly describes the energy transition that needs to take place in the UK. The first energy was fossil fuels, the second energy was nuclear and now the third energy is renewables. It’s a perfect brand for renewable energy.”
