Fracking and Local Economies

This post was originally featured on TonyVanetik.com

Despite having its roots in US energy production dating back to the early 1900s, fracking has long been looked at as an unconventional and perhaps temporary means of producing natural gas and oil within the United States.

I’ve written in the past on TonyVanetik.com about how fracking was conceived and how the process actually plays out, disspelling some of the fears around the process of collecting oil and gas within the United States. For at least 65 years, it has been used in a commercial capacity, helping to reduce the United States’ dependence on foreign oils and spur on the surge in domestic energy production. While the process does present environmental concerns when done at enormously high volumes, fracking has allowed for tremendous increases in US energy, revolutionizing the energy industry as a whole.

Fracking has reduced the cost of energy production hugely across the nation–the so called fracking revolution has caused gas prices to drop by about 47% according to Brookings. Fracking wells as a whole produced the good majority of US natural gas across the nation–two third according to the Energy Information Association.

In short, the fracking boom has hugely influenced the US economy and energy production. Few people will debate the large-scale economic benefits of increasing nationwide fracking, environmental concerns aside. But how does fracking affect local economies?

Even in scenarios in which the national economy is bouncing back or doing well at large, there are always struggling local economies. Without a booming populous or a bustling business center, some small cities and towns struggle to keep themselves afloat. Fracking, though, in areas in which shale is a valuable resource, can be the answer.

According to two Duke energy experts who studied the matter, fracking’s local benefits are enormous and unparalleled. The local government in Weld County, home to the largest shale deposit in Colorado, has brought in $110 million in property tax revenue since the shale boom. This money, combined with severance tax allocations from the government has allowed Weld County to put millions back into the school system, strengthen the police and local businesses, and rebuild roads within the county.

Weld County isn’t an exception either, similar benefits in local economies have been recognized almost universally where fracking is found. With the continued pressure to strive for energy independence within the United States, fracking is likely here to stay, much to the benefit of the economy at both the micro and macro levels.