Environ ECO Supplement - Nov 2015

environ Eco Supplement

October 2015

qatar2015

an open book

Sustainability reporting in Qatar’s energy sector and beyond

The waterenergy nexus:

Perspectives for Qatar

smart solutions:

Doha’s renewable energy drive

w w w.theedge.me

SUPPLEMENT Brought to you by:

energy sector | environ

Qatar 2 0 1 5 publications director mohamed jaidah m.jaidah@firefly-me.com general manager joe marritt j.marritt@firefly-me.com managing editor miles masterson m.masterson@theedge-me.com senior business editor aparajita mukherjee a.mukherjee@theedge-me.com deputy editor farwa zahra f.zahra@theedge-me.com associate editor ameen kader syed a.syed@firefly-me.com global energy editor simon watkins s.watkins@theedge-me.com

Contents RasGas Eco Supplement.pdf

1

10/18/15

3:49 PM

cover story 2

printed on recycled paper

environ Eco Supplement

October 2015

qatar2015

an open book

Sustainability reporting in Qatar’s energy sector and beyond

SUPPLEMENT Brought to you by:

THE WATERENERGY NEXUS: Perspectives for Qatar

SMART SOLUTIONS:

Doha’s renewable energy drive

international sales director julia toon j.toon@firefly-me.com | +974 66880228 w w w.theedge.me

head of business sales manu parmar m.parmar@firefly-me.com | +974 33325038 sales manager adam kynnersley a.kynnersley@firefly-me.com | +974 66079716 deputy sales manager shalaka dhaigude s.dhaigude@firefly-me.com | +974 66264790 senior advertising manager UAE nesreen shalaby n.shalaby@urjuan-me.com | +971 507199707 distribution & subscriptions azqa haroon/joseph isaac a.haroon@firefly-me.com/ j.issac@firefly-me.com art director sarah jabari production manager/senior designer srimani welagedara designer mohan raj finaliser ron baron printer ali bin ali printing press Doha, Qatar printer ali bin ali printing press Doha, Qatar

firefly communications PO Box 11596, Doha , Qatar Tel: +974 44340360 / Fax: +974 44340359 www.firefly-me.com The Edge, Qatar Construction News is printed monthly by © 2015 Firefly Communications. All material strictly copyright and all rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part, without the prior written permission of Firefly Communications, is strictly forbidden. All content is believed to be factual at the time of publication. Views expressed by contributors are their own derived opinions and not necessarily endorsed by The Edge or Firefly Communications.

No responsibility or liability is accepted by the editorial staff or the publishers for any loss occasioned to any individual or company, legal or physical, acting or refraining from action as a result of any statement, fact, figure, expression of opinion or belief contained in The Edge. The publisher (Firefly Communications) does not officially endorse any advertising or advertorial content for third party products. Photography/image credits and copyright, where not specifically stated, are that of Shutterstock and/or iStock Photo or Firefly Communications.

An Open Book: Sustainability Reporting as CSR in Qatar

Traditionally the preserve of the energy sector, Sustainability Reporting as an aspect of the corporate social responsibility function has now moved into other sectors. The Edge Environ takes a look at this trend as well as the motivations for energy firms in Qatar to produce these reports, and what purpose they serve, concomitant with the country’s 2030 National Vision.

Smart Solutions: Doha’s Renewable Energy Drive 10

Idealistic notions of saving the planet aside, practical economic factors are accelerating the drive to substitute oil and gasderived power with renewable energy supplies where possible across the Middle East. Qatar is in the leading group of this paradigmatic shift, writes The Edge Environ’s global energy editor Simon Watkins.

The Water Energy Nexus: Qatar’s Water Security 16 Water scarcity is a stark reality in all Gulf Cooperation Council nations, and Qatar is no exception. The country ranks among the world’s highest per capita water consumers, at around 500 litres per day, complicated by the fact that Qatar has one of the world’s lowest levels of rainfall – 80 mm per year. Salman Zafar analyses the implications.

Guest Column: Why conserve energy?

20 It is hard to imagine a world with scarce energy when we are fortunate to live in a nation blessed with having the world’s third largest natural gas reserves. Will our not-so-distant descendants be as fortunate, asks Yasser Salah Al Jaidah.

environ | 1

An Open Book:

2 | environ

csr reporting | cover story

Traditionally the preserve of the energy sector, Sustainability Reporting as an aspect of the corporate social responsibility (CSR) function has now moved beyond, into other sectors. The Edge Environ takes a look at this trend as well as the motivations for energy firms in Qatar to produce these reports, and what purpose they serve, concomitant with the Qatar National Vision 2030.

C

SR means different things to different people and differs across organisations and countries/regions.

In the Middle East, the form CSR takes is basically different from the form it takes in the West. In the Middle East, CSR is currently being used to address social and economic issues, that hinder development. Contrarily, developed nations usually view it as being designed to appeal to strong consumer sentiment through initiatives that are primarily within the paradigm of environmental sustainability.

Apart from regional differences, within a bloc of nations such as the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), one marked trend is the lack of clarity on what CSR stands for within smaller organisations.

A 2014 report on CSR in the Middle East by the Centre for Sustainability and Excellence found that less than 10 percent of all companies studied have established future goals or launched strategies on sustainability and CSR issues. It further found that Qatar and the United Arab Emirates accounted for more than half of the sustainability reports published in the region. Some large organisations are also putting pressure on their sub-contractors to meet higher standards related to such issues as treatment of migrant workers, and in this way awareness and implementation of CSR initiatives will spread further.

The 2014 report recommends that firms still need to clearly identify and articulate the aims of their programmes and to define the impacts that they want to make, before communicating these clearly both internally and externally.

The Edge Environ spoke to key corporates over and beyond the energy sector in Qatar, a sector that traditionally started the trend of CSR reporting in

Qatar and assesses the current paradigm that such reporting adheres to.

CSR function and sustainability reporting

One striking case in point is Vodafone Qatar and Dana Haidan, their head of CSR, cites this as a global pattern where sustainability reporting is important for all industries, especially consumer-product industries such as telecommunications.

Haidan says, “Telecommunication companies are expected to provide strong and uninterrupted connectivity, and to be fully transparent about their practices when it comes to protecting the privacy and data of consumers. Both are only two of the many critical issues that can impact the sustainability of a telecom business in the long term.”

In Qatar, according to Haidan, the focus is on oil and gas and construction companies due to the pressure to be more transparent about Qatar’s human

For Khalid Al Hemaidi, chief safety, health, environment and quality officer, RasGas, publicly reporting the company’s commitment to sustainability and responsible business practices is of the utmost importance to RasGas. “As a global corporate citizen, we believe that CSR practices are integral to our business, and RasGas was in fact the first Qatari energy company to issue a sustainability report in 2009,” he tells The Edge Environ.

environ | 3

cover story | csr reporting rights practices. However, in a culture where privacy is more critical than anywhere else in the world, and a country that is moving towards everything digital, telecommunication companies should be an open book to their stakeholders about their practices. “That is why in Vodafone, sustainability reporting has always been a tool that we use internally to develop our sustainability strategy and connect with our key stakeholders on issues that matter to them,” she says.

For Kalyan Krishnan of the Global Corporate Citizenship and Diversity wing of KPMG International, who consulted in the compilation of the Vodafone report, the impact that the telecom industry has in terms of connecting the world via their products and services, gives them a significant opportunity and a huge responsibility to use their capabilities and resources to do good.

Krishnan explains that if an organisation does not measure the nonfinancial key performance indicators (KPIs) along with their financial KPIs in relation to their performance, how can they fully understand what their impact, risks and opportunities are in terms of the future of their business? This school of thought, according to Krishnan, is illustrated in a recent article in Fortune that highlights companies around the world who are ‘doing well by doing good’ and the first slot is Vodafone, which has been highlighted for their impact in the world via their M-Pesa programme.

The programme could be classified as a CSR initiative, but Krishnan argues that when an initiative has an impact at the level of bringing banking and financial services to over 17 million people across East Africa, India, Romania and Albania in many cases for the first time - then this is no longer just a CSR initiative. Krishnan adds, “This is the organisation evolving the way they do business responsibly and living out their purpose/significance.”

Within the traditional sector of energy, for Khalid Al Hemaidi, chief safety, health, environment and quality officer, RasGas publicly reporting the company’s commitment to sustainability and responsible business practices is of the utmost importance to RasGas. “As a global corporate citizen, we believe that CSR practices are integral to our business,

4 | environ The Edge

“It is important for companies to not only conduct their financial auditing process annually, but also to perform this self-auditing process every year to ensure that they have zero negative impact on the community, the environment and the business itself. Once the audit process is done, they will find it easier to identify the risks and mitigate them moving forward,” says Dana Haidan, head of CSR, Vodafone Qatar.

Along with its neighbour the United Arab Emirates, Qatar is rapidly taking the lead in sustainability reporting across all sectors in the region.

“As a result of regular interaction with our stakeholders, we are able to identify the issues that are of importance to them and the elements included in our five-year sustainability plan.” – Khalid Al Hemaidi, RasGas.

and RasGas, was in fact the first Qatari energy company to issue a sustainability report in 2009.”

That, says Al Hemaidi, exemplifies the company’s commitment to transparency, regulatory compliance, ethics, employee welfare, the environment, and human rights. Al Hemaidi clarifies that within their CSR function, the company sees the report not as an end, but as confirmation of its journey of continuous improvement, especially “as RasGas seeks to make a positive, lasting impact on stakeholders in the key areas of community, education, environment and health, in alignment with the Qatar National Vision 2030 and the National Development Strategy 2011-16”.

Components of sustainability reporting Depending on the sector that a company belongs to, the thrust of its sustainability reporting changes. For a telecom company, for instance, Haidan of Vodafone Qatar feels that its reporting

energy sector | environ

97%

The year-on-year growth of the number of corporate sustainability reports produced in Qatar between 2010 and 2014, more than half outside the energy sector.

“[Sustainability reporting] helps us develop CSR strategy that targets issues that are critical to both our key stakeholders and the business’s commercial objectives.” – Dana Haidan, Vodafone Qatar. is based on its identification and understanding of the stakeholders that are impacted directly and indirectly by its business and putting their expectations from the company at the forefront.

“It helps us develop CSR strategy,” Haidan says, “that targets issues that are critical to both our key stakeholders and the business’s commercial objectives.

This way, we dedicate the focus and the resources where they need to be rather than doing things just because they are nice to do. For example, when your stakeholders are telling you to focus on cyberbullying as an issue to address, you will not end up spending time and resources on supporting sports activities.”

Haidan likens sustainability

reporting to performing a corporate scan to ensure that the business ethics policies and procedure that govern a corporate’s working relationships with its stakeholders are in place and implemented. She adds, “It is important for companies to not only conduct their financial auditing process annually, but also to perform this self-auditing process every year to ensure that they have zero negative impact on the community, the environment and the business itself.

Once the audit process is done, they will find it easier to identify the risks and mitigate them moving forward.”

Krishnan of KPMG International points out that one of the most critical elements within a sustainability report

is the materiality assessment of issues.

Defining materiality, Krishnan says that it is the principle of defining the social and environmental topics that matter most to one’s business and that of its stakeholders.

Krishnan adds, “Some 80 percent of the world’s largest 250 companies already identify material sustainability issues in their reporting. However, the process of identifying material issues accurately is still a challenge for many businesses.”

For Hemaidi of RasGas, sustainability reporting symbolises an invaluable tool to build relationships with stakeholders and to support RasGas’s drive for better business performance, all within the goals of Qatar’s development goals under the Qatar National Vision 2030. “As a result of regular

environ | 5

cover story | csr reporting interaction with our stakeholders,” he says, “we are able to identify the issues that are of importance to them and the elements included in our five-year sustainability plan are those we consider to be the most relevant to stakeholder concerns.”

CSR and the bigger corporate picture

Where does an organisation’s CSR strategy and within this, sustainability reporting, fit into the organisation’s greater strategy and business operations?

For Vodafone Qatar, in the words of Haidan, “The CSR strategy stems from the sustainability reporting process. One of the pillars of the company’s overall strategy is contributing to community development, therefore the CSR strategy serves to achieve that pillar.”

Vodafone, according to Haidan, is currently positioned in Qatar as one of the leading companies in the CSR and sustainability space. “Companies are citizens of Qatar and must behave in an ethical and responsible manner, just as any individual in Qatar would. We aim to be a platform where CSR and

sustainability matters are brought to discussion and open dialogue in a way that serves Qatar National Vision 2030.”

RasGas believes that sustainable practices and business success are indivisible. As such, says Hemaidi, “Sustainability reporting meets our transparency requirements towards our stakeholders. However, our strategy goes beyond the publication itself. Ongoing stakeholder engagement enables RasGas to identify concerns, and monitor and realign strategic objectives to cater to evolving needs. Our approach is based on proactive research, adherence to international standards and best practice, consistent two-way communication and collaboration with public and private partners, and needs-assessment and project-basis surveys.”

Citing the case of KPMG International, Krishnan mentions, “In KPMG, we believe that the work of our people based around the world has helped in building capability and capacity of governments, aid agencies, civil society organisations, and businesses that address some of the world’s most pressing challenges

For most Qatari energy organisations, such as RasGas, sustainability reporting is not just about a positive contribution to the natural environment, but is also anchored in sustainable human development.

(Image RasGas)

For Kalyan Krishnan of the Global Corporate Citizenship and Diversity wing of KPMG International, the impact that the telecom industry has in terms of connecting the world via their products and services, gives them a significant opportunity and a huge responsibility to use their capabilities and resources to do good.

and realise positive change. We also believe that we can inspire confidence through our actions and investments, working to help lift people beyond poverty and ensure economic growth is balanced with the need to sustain our environment.”

District cooling benefits reducing electrical consumption by almost half as electric consumption by air-conditioning systems is estimated to peak up to 75% of the overall electricity consumption during summer months

40%

reducing co2 emissions

reducing pollution caused by the refrigerant gases used in conventional airconditioning systems that deplete the ozone layer

reducing the demand for natural gas for power generation. since natural gas is one of the sources for power generation in the state of Qatar, it is therefore in line with the national gas conservation strategy

substantially lowering operating costs and increasing operating reliability and availability of air-conditioning

improving air quality and temperature control which are difficult to monitor and regulate through conventional airconditioning systems

10%

60%

being 40% to 60% more energy efficient than conventional airconditioning systems such as, air cooled chillers, split air-conditioning units and window air-conditioning units

qatarcool.com

reducing construction costs as air-conditioning systems typically constitute up to

10% of overall building costs which developers are able to save by outsourcing air-conditioning requirements

Performance of Qatari Industries

cover story | csr reporting environ | energy sector

20

19

18

Q&A with Monaem Ben Lellahom, founding partner, Sustainability Square, regional csr consultancy 16 14

12

12

11

10 8

6

6

5

4

4

Pro fit

No

n-

s

ica tio n

Tel eco

Pu b

mm

lic

un

Ag en cy

s

Uti litie

rgy

Ene

Me tals Pro duc ts

Ser

ial

Fin anc

Ch e mic als

s

vic e

rgy

Ene

20

17

15

13

10 5

5 0

2 2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

62 Sustainability Reports produced in Qatar. Prodcuction of Sustainability Reports is growing at the rate of 96.95% yearly.

Performance of Qatari Industries

20

19

18 16 14

12

12

11

10 8

6

6

5

4

4

3

2

Qatar’s Performance in sustainability reporting

8 | environ 30

Pro fit n-

nic com mu Tel e

Energy and Chemicals have contributed to 49% of the reports produced in Qatar Sector wide Sustainable Development Industry Reporting ( SDIR ) programme.

No

ns ati o

cy Ag en blic Pu

Uti lit rgy Ene

duc Pro tals Me

ies

ts

ls ica Che m

0

es

2 vic

Some companies still consider sustainability reports as a communication tool that they can stuff with pictures and glorious greenwashed statements. The value is not certainly there. Stakeholders are now better informed and have higher expectations from brands. They have always seen glossy reports glorifying corporates and institutions. They now want to learn about how those brands and products are impacting their lives and the community they live in.

25

25

Ser

What do you think is the biggest misconconception people have about sustainability reporting?

30

anc ial

The main purpose is putting in place an additional channel of engagement with stakeholders to update them about the company’s extra-financial performance and how it impacts their lives and the surrounding community.

2

Qatar’s Performance in sustainability reporting

Fin

What do you believe is the main purpose of a sustainability report for a company?

Energy and Chemicals have contributed to 49% of the reports produced in Qatar Sector wide Sustainable Development Industry Reporting ( SDIR ) programme.

rgy

It is not even trends, it is a fact. Every organisation has an impact and stakeholders who are concerned about several issues (including social, environmental, health, ethical and human rights) and are requesting transparency and disclosure on performance. In fact, in the Middle East, in addition to energy companies, sustainability reporting is currently a practice that is embraced by several industries including telecom operators, banks and financial institutions, government organisations, tourism and leisure, even nurseries and others.

3

“Sustainability reporting creates an 0 additional channel of engagement with stakeholders.” – Monaem Ben Lellahom, Sustainability Square 2

Ene

Sustainability reporting is traditionally associated with energy companies or entities that produce pollutants or emissions. Is there a trend towards non-energy companies such as Vodafone also producing these reports?

smart

environ | energy sector

solutions Qatar holds its own in the Middle East’s renewable energy drive

Idealistic notions of saving the planet aside, practical economic factors are accelerating the drive to substitute oil and gas-derived power with renewable energy supplies where possible across the Middle East. Qatar is in the leading group of this paradigmatic shift, writes Simon Watkins.

Qatar is at the forefront, in the region, of a drive to invest in renewable energy, writes the author, The Edge Environ’s global energy editor Simon Watkins.

10 | environ

T

his is driven in large part by the knowledge that projected demand for domestic electricity consumption will continue to increase by at least one billion kilowatt hours (kWh) per annum every year for the next decade at minimum, according to average industry figures, having seen growth from approximately eight billion kWh to 20.5 billion kWh between 2000 and 2010.

“Using up oil and gas reserves to meet rising domestic power consumption could have serious long-term economic repercussions for some countries in the Middle East,” Klair

White, assistant director of corporate finance at Ernst & Young, in London, tells The Edge Environ, adding,“Oil currently represents around 90 percent of Saudi Arabia’s export revenue, for example, yet market forecasts suggest the current level of consumption growth could leave it as a net importer of oil by 2038.”

The opportunity cost of using hydrocarbons resources, rather than renewable resources in major industrial processes such as desalination and wastewater recycling plants to provide clean water to residents and businesses, and for perennial air-conditioning, is foregone export

renewable energy | feature story the cost of solar systems, offering the rapidly growing regions of MENA a valuable and economically viable energy alternative to conventional fossil fuels,” he adds.

In this context, among the major oil producing countries in particular, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been at the forefront of the renewables revolution, having committed billions of dollars in new clean energy projects over the last four years, while also establishing a framework for outside parties to bring new ideas, technologies and investment into the region, according to Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, chief executive officer of the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA).

The most notable recent development in this respect is the solicitation of bids for the 200 megawatt (MW) build-out of the Al Maktoum Solar Park in Seih Al Dahal, set to be completed by 2017, with the broader 800 MW phase III expansion scheduled to come online in 2020, according to company statements, bringing the Park’s total generation to more than 1000 MW. “Using up oil and gas reserves to meet rising domestic power consumption could have serious long-term economic repercussions for some countries in the Middle East,” says White.

Qatar’s power

Of the gas resource-centric Middle Eastern nations, Qatar is front and centre, according to industry experts, as part of Qatar National Vision 2030 to deliver a sustainable future and the government’s

revenues. This is exacerbated by the fact that enduring energy subsidies also provide little incentive for consumers to rationalise their energy demand, White adds. Given these factors, then, she says, while renewables projects currently struggle to compete with subsidised conventional energy in some markets, the anticipated removal or reduction of such subsidies will see solar and wind power in particular become more cost-competitive and even significantly cheaper than conventional fuels, especially in markets that are heavily

reliant on back-up diesel generators to address power shortages.

Against this backdrop, then, last year marked something of a turning point for the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region as a whole, says Hani Majzoub, head of renewable power conversion sales for General Electric MENA, in Dubai, with over 30 projects receiving contracts, with solar solutions at the forefront. “Accelerating the growth of solar is the continued development of innovative technologies and services that are further driving down

The recently completed Solar SmartGrid Project that added a total of 1.68MW of new PV systems at various facilities within the Qatar Foundation campus. environ | 11

feature story | recewable energy

The turning point for Qatar came in December 2010 when its bid to host the 2022 World Cup was accepted, with plan to use solar technology in all five stadiums. commitment to attain two percent of the country’s energy from renewable sources by 2020. The key turning point for the country came in December 2010 when its bid to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup was accepted. Part of its ‘Qatar 22 Showcase’ bid being the plan to use solar technology in all five stadiums involved in the tournament to power their cooling systems, with generators using biofuels used to supplement them as and when required in order for the event to be entirely carbon neutral.

Around this time, a range of new renewable projects were launched, including plans launched for the Arabian Peninsula’s first production facility for polysilicon (Qatar Solar Technologies, QST), and the build-out of the Qatar Science and Technology Park (QSTP) for the development of sustainable technologies by educational and commercial enterprises (currently including campuses of Carnegie Mellon, Texas A&M, and Weill Cornell, among others, and EADS, ExxonMobil, GE, Microsoft, Shell and Total). It also says that tangible applications of this renewable energy research, with Qatar Airways announcing a proposal to develop new aviation biofuels in tandem with external collaborators from within the energy and aviation industries, and a world first from the airline when it flew one of its Airbus A340 long-range airliners on a fuel blend that incorporated 50 percent natural gas.

A cornerstone of Qatar’s energy strategy was the unveiling last year by Qatar Solar Energy (QSE) – a private initiative

12 | environ

Qatar National Convention Centre in the Qatar Foundation (QF) already has solar panels installed on the roof, but the QF campus is also home to the recently completed Solar Smart-Grid Project that added a total of 1.68 MW of new PV systems at various facilities across the campus, which, in itself, will have almost eight MW solar energy installations in the future, making it the largest renewable energy producer in Qatar.

supported by the Qatar government – of a new, vertically-integrated solar panel manufacturing and research facility located in Doha’s New Industrial Area, and the corollary signing of a landmark agreement with Kazakhstan-based energy company, Kazatomprom, which will supply QSE with raw materials used in the production of solar panels. This partnership allows QSE to secure the entire value chain from raw material to smart-grid development and provides the foundation from which the firm can expand its production capacity to 2.5 gigawatts (GW), according to its chief executive officer in Doha, Salim Abbassi.

This level of output would make Qatar one of the largest individual state producers of solar power in the world (the total combined capacity of production in Europe and the United States currently stands at 3.4 GW, by comparison).

Moreover, the deal with the Kazakhs ensures that solar grade silicon supplies (the raw material used to make solar

“Using up oil and gas reserves to meet rising domestic power consumption could have serious long-term economic repercussions for some countries in the Middle East,” Klair White, assistant director of corporate finance at Ernst & Young, in London, tells Environ.

feature | recewable energy

14 | environ

Qatar has the highest per-capita emission of carbon dioxide in the world, according to the US Department of Energy’s Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center – three times as high as the US itself.

– is particularly energy-intensive, and demand in the emirate is rising by seven percent per year. All of this contributes to the startling fact that, as it stands, Qatar still has the highest per-capita emission of carbon dioxide in the world, according to the United States (US) Department of Energy’s Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center (among others), three times as high as the US itself. This is despite the fact that the oil pumped, and gas extracted, from the country’s sands is not counted against its carbon consumption (unless it is burned in-state), although programmes such as the JBOG Project will help to reduce GHG emissions in this regard.

Having said this, moves are afoot to redress this element of the carbons emissions mix at source, with a recent announcement from Qatar University’s Gas Processing Centre (GPC) that it is working on a project that aims to capture carbon mainly from industrial and natural gas streams, according to the University’s vice president for research, Dr. Hassan Al Derham, Doha. In the same vein, says Sam Barden, director of global renewable energy firm, Miegen, in Melbourne, solar energy has practical applications to reduce the costs associated with extracting oil from difficult-to-develop fields – such as those in Qatar – via enhanced oil recovery

New clean energy investment worldwide Q2 2015 80

New clean energy investment (USDbn)

panels) are guaranteed to QSE at a competitive fixed cost for the next 10 years, which is highly advantageous to Qatar, given that demand for raw polysilicon is projected to increase exponentially, in line with the global move towards utilising more renewable energy as part of the global energy mix. Moreover, the appetite for new solar supply in Asia remains buoyant, according to industry figures, with China’s government, for example, having recently announced plans to install 70 GW of solar capacity by 2017, double its previously announced target of 35 GW by 2015, and forecasts for Japan indicating as much as 36 GW of new solar capacity by 2018.

In this context, QSE recently announced that it has signed agreements with Jermyn Capital to supply panels capable of producing 150 MW of solar power to the Japanese market and with Power Capital to supply panels to generate 150 MW to the Thailand market.

This comes in tandem with ongoing development initiatives by the Qatar Foundation’s (QF) Energy Monitoring Centre (EMC) to manage its smart grid and monitoring of solar power generation across all sites within Education City. QF is now responsible for up to 85 percent of Qatar’s solar photovoltaic (PV) current installed capacity of roughly 4 MW, and it is also the first commercial PV project in Qatar approved for grid connection from Kahramaa. In turn, the EMC is part of the recently completed Solar Smart-Grid Project that added a total of 1.68 MW of new PV systems at various facilities within the QF campus, which, in itself, will have almost eight MW solar energy installations in the future, making it the largest renewable energy producer in Qatar. “The energy produced through the grid offsets the annual electricity usage of 471 Qatari houses, so its carbon emission saving is equivalent to conserving 6023 barrels of oil annually or growing 66,410 tree seedlings for 10 years,” says Ibrahim Al Haidos, project manager Solar Smart Grid, QF, Doha.

The impetus for hydrocarbons substitution with renewables-sourced energy, moreover, is great, given that free electricity (and free water provided to all citizens – the former burning relentlessly in air-conditioners, for example, and the latter often produced by desalinating seawater)

70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0

Q2 2014

Q3 Q4 2014 2014

Q1 Q2 2015 2015

Asia Pacific, Americas - EMEA Source: BNEF project database and Global trends in green energy investment Q2 2015 fact pack, BNEF July 2015. Values include BNEF estimates for undisclosed deals. Asia Pacific includes India.

(EOR) techniques, already being used in this context by neighbouring Oman and under discussion in Qatar.

“Replacing natural gas combustion with solar steam at Qatar’s EOR sites [notably, Al Shaheen, Dukhan, and Idd Al Shargi] would have the twin benefits of substantially reducing recovery costs [by around USD10 (QAR36) per barrel, according to the Energy Information Administration] over and above the opportunity costs involved in wasting gas in EOR rather than plugging gaps in the domestic power and petchems feedstock sector, and in reducing carbon emissions as well in line with its ‘Vision 2030’,” Barden concludes.

environ | water & energy

The water-energy nexus: Perspectives for Qatar Water scarcity is a stark reality in all Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations, and Qatar is no exception. The country ranks among the world’s highest per capita water consumers, at around 500 litres per day, though the per capita freshwater availability is extremely low – a meager 26,000 litres per year.

The situation is complicated by the fact that Qatar has one of the world’s lowest levels of rainfall – 80 mm per year. Salman Zafar analyses the implications.

D

ue to burgeoning population and rapid industrialisation, the per capita water availability in Qatar has been decreasing steadily in recent years. With increasing demands and declining availability, the competition for water resources for household consumption, industrial usage and agriculture has already intensified. In fact, Qatar features among the world’s top 10 countries in terms of vulnerability to severe water scarcity.

However, most of the people are either unaware or have ignored this stark fact.

The main water resources in the country are desalinated water, groundwater and recycled water. The most important water resource for Qatar

16 | environ

is seawater, which accounts for almost half of the water used in the country.

Qatar’s dependence on seawater desalination has been rising steadily over the years. In 1995, 97 million cubic metres (MCM) of water was desalinated which increased to 465 MCM in 2013.

Groundwater is a vital part of Qatar’s water reserves. However, the rate of groundwater extraction is much higher than the rate of its replenishment (by meager rainfall and water flows from Saudi Arabia). Groundwater availability in Qatar is being increasingly threatened by its overexploitation and unsustainable use.

Recycled water, or treated municipal wastewater, also holds great importance for Qatar as the country treats and

Lack of rainfall (which is at 80 mm per year) and low levels of groundwater availability means that Qatar’s dependence on seawater desalination has been rising steadily over the years. In 1995, 97 million cubic metres (MCM) of water was desalinated. This increased to 465 MCM in 2013.

(Image Arabian Eye/Corbis)

reuses 24 percent of total freshwater supplies, which is significantly higher than other GCC nations. The treated water increased from 24 million cubic metres in 2004 to 157.8 million cubic metres in 2013. Recycled water is mainly used for irrigation and landscaping purposes, however the country lacks the infrastructure to deliver recycled water to potential industrial users.

Water and energy: unbreakable relationship

An

Water-energy nexus is counted among the most important interdependencies in Qatar. As Waleed Khalil Zubari, professor of Water Resources Management at Arabian

water & energy | environ

A recent study by International Energy Agency found that the six biggest users of desalination in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region use approximately 10 percent of their respective primary energy for desalination.

a lot to inculcate conservation habits and achieve noticeable outcomes.

Introduction of the principle of cost recovery is conceptually the simplest solution, but politically difficult to implement in GCC nations. It is important to renew our attention on demandside management and conservation approaches for water for domestic, industrial and agricultural applications.”

Seawater desalination

Gulf University, Bahrain, says, “Energy is required in all segments of the water value chain; extracting groundwater, feeding desalination plants with its raw sea/brackish waters and producing freshwater, pumping, conveying, and distributing freshwater, collecting wastewater and its treatment and reuse. In other words, without energy, mainly in the form of electricity, water availability, delivery systems, and human welfare will not function.” Needless to say, the water-energy nexus is becoming stronger as the water scarcity in Qatar increases with each passing day.

A recent study by International Energy Agency found that the six biggest users of desalination in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region – Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Algeria, Kuwait, and Libya – use approximately 10 percent of their respective primary energy for desalination. In fact, desalination accounted for more than four percent of the total electricity generated in the MENA region in 2010.

Despite a profound water-energy nexus, the policies and practices of either sector display a sense of disconnect in the Middle East, which is leading to unsustainable outcomes.

For instance, in the Middle East region, around 85 percent of the water is used for irrigation. As far as Qatar is concerned, more than 50 percent of the water produced is consumed by the agricultural sector. This level of irrigation is inherently unsustainable, and leads to overuse of scarce renewable water resources, which in turn leads to

500

litres: Qatar’s per capita water consumption per day.

increased energy use for desalination.

In fact, Middle East’s average water use efficiency in irrigation is only 50 to 60 percent, compared to best-practice examples of above 80 percent efficiency under similar climate conditions in Australia and southwest United States.

According to Dr. Shahid Hasan, energy specialist and fellow at King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center (KAPSARC), “An understanding of how water-energy interacts at different scales, and what are the conflicting and/ or synergetic outcomes, is crucial for addressing the negative trade-offs of the water-energy nexus. Of course, all negative trade-offs cannot be avoided, but this understanding could help in taking informed decisions in future policy formulations.”

With increasing demands, declining availability and more competition for water in Qatar, merely myopic approach of encouraging efficiency of utilisation and conservation of water and energy in isolation may not give the best results. Huge amounts of energy and water subsidies are the driving force behind water inefficiencies in Qatar. As Hasan says, “Regulatory institutions in energy and water sectors have to do

The scarcity of groundwater in Qatar has intensified the use of desalination and combined co-production of electricity and water, especially in the GCC. The three main seawater desalination plants are Ras Abu Fontas, Ras Laffan A and Ras Laffan B. However, conventional seawater desalination is cost-prohibitive, energy-intensive and environmentally unsustainable. As Zubari puts it, “Given the large market size and the strategic role of desalination in the Middle East, the installation of new capacities will significantly increase the overall energy consumption.” According to Sayeed Mohammad, Research Associate at Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute, “The continuous expansion of desalination units poses severe stress on the shallow Gulf. For instance, the increasing salinity of the Gulf, and the steady decline of marine species could disrupt the fishing population, and severely impair long-term usage of seawater for desalination.” In addition, desalination has a very high environmental footprint on account of greenhouse emissions from energy consumption and discharge of brine into the sea.

Solar-powered desalination

The negative effects of desalination can be minimised, to some extent, by using renewable energy to power the plants.

“As energy production is mainly based on fossil-fuels and this source is limited, it is clear that development of renewable energies to power desalination plants is needed”, says Zubari.

Qatar has tremendous solar energy potential which can be effectively harnessed to power seawater desalination plants.

Photovoltaics (PV) and concentrating solar power

environ | 17

energy sector | environ (CSP) technologies offer an attractive proposition to power industrial-scale desalination plants in Qatar and other GCC nations. Qatar’s global horizontal irradiance is 2,140 kilo Watt hour (kWh) per m sq. per year, which makes it wellsuited for large-scale solar PV systems.

In addition to solar PV, Qatar has very good potential for concentrated solar power as its direct normal irradiance (DNI) value is around 2008 kWh per m sq. per year which is above the minimum threshold of 1800 kWh per m sq. per year.

Solar-powered desalination plants have the potential to provide stable energy supply for continuous operation of desalination plants, based on thermal or membrane processes. The virtually unlimited solar irradiance in Qatar can ensure the establishment of ‘green’ desalination plants, thus saving energy, reducing Green House Gas emissions and offering a sustainable and secure freshwater supply.

The way forward

Fortunately, Qatar has realised that efficient development and management of water resources requires water policy reforms. However, water sector policy reform needs to address the key issues of reliable assessment of water supply and demand, water quality deterioration, energy consumption, water use efficiency, pricing policies, groundwater mining, and improved institutional support.

Considering the severe ramifications of the water crisis in Qatar, it is governments’ responsibility to formulate a forwardlooking regional water policy to facilitate rapid deployment of CSP and other clean energy resources for seawater desalination. Short-term, long-term and multi-sectoral approaches are urgently required to overcome inefficient use of water resources and make their use sustainable.

However, the most important choices affecting water-energy nexus in the future are changing governance approach, education system, implementation of latest technologies, behavioural change, in addition to many other socio-economic policies. “Water and environmental policies should not be compartmentalised, and they should

Water Management in Qatar: Important Facts

500 litres per day

Per capita water consumption

10% of primary energy Used by desalination plants

97 million m3

Seawater desalinated in 1995

24 million m3

26,000 litres per annum Per capita water availability

80mm

Annual rainfall

456 million m3

Seawater desalinated in 2013

157.8 million m3

Wastewater recycled in 2004

Wastewater recycled in 2013

be integrated and mainstreamed into the national socio-economic development plans,” says Zubari. Water-saving devices should be encouraged across all sectors by offering appropriate incentives, setting higher efficiency standards, and creating wider awareness among its users. Sectoral water allocation is another contested issue for Qatar which requires a coherent long-term policy in order to save the depleting groundwater aquifers.

“For a better tomorrow, it is essential to better integrate policy frameworks while addressing water-energy challenges with specific attention to efficient utilisation, conservation and renewable energy utilisation”, adds Hasan. A common legislative framework that addresses efficiency and conservation in areas, which impinge on

each other in the water-energy domain, would be desirable, if that helps in tackling future challenges. To sum up, water has no substitute, and deserves utmost respect from one and all.

Salman Zafar is the founder of EcoMENA.

environ | 19

environ | guest column

Energy conservation: Why focus on it now?

It is hard to imagine a world with scarce energy when we are fortunate to live in a nation blessed with the world’s third largest natural gas reserves. But will our not-so-distant descendants be as fortunate, asks Yasser Salah Al Jaidah.

Energy conservation may not be a subject of immediate concern for the vast majority of Qatar’s inhabitants. Energy is abundant and subsidised; we can afford to leave a few extra lights on. It is imperative to remember, however, the fact that hydrocarbon depletion and waste is not sustainable for the extended future, no matter where one lives or how abundant reserves are.

Living overseas for many years in countries such as Japan, South Korea, the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States (US), where energy is a much higher-cost commodity, has without a doubt reformed my energy conservation habits.

When I lived in South Korea, for example, I witnessed a collective societal strive towards energy conservation. A South Korean will not hesitate to lecture you if you leave the door open behind you after entering an air-conditioned establishment. In the UK, I learnt that many families set their heating systems lower than is comfortable during the winter in order to save on the cost of electricity.

In Qatar, perhaps the need for energy preservation is not immediately obvious, but it may be in the future. Responsible energy consumption is our responsibility to the world at large, to Qatar, and to our future generations.

Creating a culture of energy conservation must be ingrained in how we live, and requires a countrywide behavioural shift. It begins with more companies educating their people on energy sustainability practices and making more choices that support energy conservation. Take district cooling as an example.

District cooling significantly reduces energy consumption when compared to conventional cooling, while using sustainable resources and solutions such as treated sewage effluent as an alternative to potable water, which is a scarce natural resource. It begins with educating our youth in our schools, and supporting these initiatives in our homes and in our workplaces.

A collective behavioural shift towards eco-consciousness will make a significant difference in our energy outlook. Simple practices such as choosing more energy-efficient light bulbs, turning off the lights when not in use, or keeping windows and doors of air- conditioned areas closed, would make a monumental difference if practised consistently across the country.

Qatar National Vision 2030 is a roadmap towards creating a more diversified and sustainable economy and delivers the framework to build a balanced society that depends less on hydrocarbons and more on the capabilities of its people. The

20 | environ

Yasser Salah Al Jaidah is the chief executive officer of Qatar Cool.

A collective behavioural shift towards ecoconsciousness will make a significant difference in our energy outlook. fourth of the Qatar National Vision’s five pillars is dedicated to Qatar’s environmental development and encompasses all environmental concerns, including hydrocarbon depletion. As a society benefitted by the fruits of this nation, it is our duty, whether we are Qatari nationals or Qatari residents, to support Qatar’s efforts to continue to thrive in the future. This support must begin today, at our homes, at our workplaces, with our children, with our own actions. We have one world with limited resources. It is time to protect them.

environ Eco Supplement

October 2015

qatar2015

an open book

Sustainability reporting in Qatar’s energy sector and beyond

The waterenergy nexus:

Perspectives for Qatar

smart solutions:

Doha’s renewable energy drive

w w w.theedge.me

SUPPLEMENT Brought to you by: