A great potential in solar

Dr Inderjeet Singh, Senior Manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) holds a Ph.D in energy efficiency in buildings from the Indian Institute of technology Delhi, and has been working in the area of GHG emission reduction, carbon foot-printing and emissions trading right in India. Currently, he has been associated with various capacity building programmes related to promotion of renewable energy technologies, efficient building design and GHG emission reduction in the oil and gas sector. Dr Singh talks to Sunil Fernandes on a range of subjects from renewable energy to water foot print

You are part of the sustainability team at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC). What does being part of the sustainability team imply?
Being part of the sustainability team implies a complete range of activities. It could involve consultancy services in lowering carbon footprint, water footprint, carbon capture and storage, energy aspects, including renewable etc.

How is water foot print different from carbon footprint?
Carbon footprint is a global issue, while water footprint might not be so. Consider an example of advisory services to a beverage company or a brewery company; water footprint would be a local subject here, if the consumption by these industries adversely affects the local community. This is because water may be scarce in that locality, and this affects the life of the people in and around the locality where the industry is situated.

You talked of water footprint. The oil and gas industry too has a lot of water to be disposed off.

Typically, this is the other side of the coin. As explained before what we are talking of here is the water scarcity problem that affects the local population. In the instance of the oil and gas industry it is safely disposing of the water. Also, water foot print could include contamination of water. There are some pollution control boards in India that have now opted for consent to operate on the grounds that there will be zero discharge of water.

Could you elaborate on the clean development mechanism (CDM)?
To give you an example, in the Middle East, power is generated through the use of natural gas. In India a lot of power is generated with the use of coal. According to the clean development mechanism, if you are taking-up any opportunities which reduces the emission of green-house gases and it is not viable on a stand-alone basis, then such projects will be registered as candidates for CDM. What then happens is that the emission reduction achieved through these initiatives becomes a tradable commodity in the international market.

What is the potential for renewable across the globe and in the Middle East?
Germany is the country that is leader in the field of wind power generation. Countries like India do not have wind for the entire year and the potential is in select places. In India eight states were identified, with the state of Tamil Nadu having the maximum wind power generation. With the level of incentives and tax holidays, these projects are competitive. Also, there are no fuel costs with wind energy and there is always an advantage if you have CDM. In countries like Oman, there is a huge potential for Solar energy.
 
PwC has recently been awarded the first Carbon Capture and Storage project by ONGC, India. Can you give more details?
Recently, PwC has been awarded with the first Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) project by Oil and Natural Gas Corporation of India. Work on Clean Development Mechanism advisory will commence once CCS is adopted as a CDM activity. CCS has its own set of issues. Presently, what CCS involves is capturing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and then sealing it. Technology providers are giving assurances that the carbon dioxide pumped into the ground will stay there for several hundred years. The issue is that there is no certainty and no guarantee that there would be no carbon dioxide leakages. Tests have been done and it is seen that there has been no leakage for the last 10 years. The fact remains that there has to be a political decision to allow CCS to be one of the plausible mechanisms to reduce green house gas emissions. I can assure you that once this happens, the Middle East and North Africa region can see substantial reduction in green house gas emissions, by pumping a lot of carbon dioxide into the ground.

When choosing a location for CCS, as in the case of ONGC, what are the factors involved?
ONGC’s CCS project is located at Ankleshwar and geology plays an important role while selecting a location.

Are these CCS projects viable?
I do not think it is a question of viability; the pertinent point is first getting the approvals in place. There has to be a legislation and then investments, benefits and other aspects can well be worked out.

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