How can we decarbonise economic development?

According to reports by IRENA[5], the renewable potential in Africa is estimated at 300 million MW of solar photo-voltaic

Global horizontal irradiation (GHI) in sub-sarharan Africa (Copyright World Bank). GHI is a value is of particular interest to solar farms and includes direct normal irradiance and diffuse horizontal irradiance.

power and more than 250 million MW of wind. But, IRENA and the Africa Progress Panel[6] understand there are investment challenges to realising this potential. Meeting sub-Saharan Africa’s power needs is expected to cost US$40.8 billion a year, or 6.35% of Africa’s gross domestic product, according to the World Bank. The locations of wind and solar resources in Africa are not known in enough detail at the moment to stimulate private investment by companies hoping to select sites for projects[7]. Africa – and developing countries generally – lack big electricity grids and transmission lines to move large amounts of power to where it is needed.

Possibilities for carbon dioxide storage in the developing world

Systematic surveys of the carbon dioxide storage potential in developing countries have not been done. Surveys that have been completed suggest patchy storage potential. Approximately 150 Gt of storage space is thought to exist in offshore saline aquifers, unmineable coal seams and depleted oil and gas reservoirs of South Africa. However, appropriate storage sites are often far removed from the main CO₂ sources[8].

The CO₂ storage potential of India is estimated to be between 3.8 and 4.6 Gt, in deep saline aquifers and depleted oil and gas fields[9]. The ‘Bombay High’ field, offshore from the city of Mumbai could be the site of a cluster of CCS infrastructure, however the storage capacity of the field is only 600 million tonnes which is not sufficient to store long term, high volumes of injected CO₂.

The geoscience knowledge and skills that support discovering, assessing and deploying CCS technologies could be critical for helping developing countries to decarbonise.

How can geoscientists support development of CCS and what work remains?

At the 2019 Bryan Lovell Meeting, global deployment of CCS was acknowledged as vital for decarbonisation. CCS may be one of the only tools that the world has to decarbonise whether renewables are widely utilised in the developing world or not. Geoscientists need to work internationally, developing concepts for pilot schemes, as well as working with governments on regulatory and licensing frameworks encouraging CCS, and carbon trading mechanisms.

Perhaps most of all, it is essential that the voice of geoscience is heard internationally, at the highest levels of decision making to achieve our goals set within the Paris agreement.

[1] International Energy Agency 2016. World Energy Outlook, 684pp

[2] International Energy Agency 2016. World Energy Outlook, 684pp

[3] Shearer, C. et al. 2017. Future CO₂ emissions and electricity generation from proposed coal-fired power plants in India. Earth’s Future 5, 408–416

[4] Economist Aug 22nd 2019

[5] Miketa, A. and Saadi, N. 2015. Africa Power Sector: Planning and Prospects for Renewable Energy IRENA, 44pp

[6] Africa Progress Panel 2015. Power People Planet: seizing Africa’s Energy and Climate opportunities. 182pp

[7] Gies, E. 2016. Can wind and solar fuel Africa’s future? Nature 539, 20-22

[8] Council for Geoscience South Africa, 2010. Technical report on the geological storage of carbon dioxide in South Africa.

[9] Holloway et al. 2008. A Regional Assessment of the Potential for CO₂ storage in the Indian Subcontinent. IEA GHG R&D Programme Report No. 2008/2, May 2008