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Water in Bioenergy Agroecosystems Workshop

Industry perspective on water for bioenergy production

Alistair Wyness, BP International Group Water Expert

13 June 2012

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Water in Bioenergy

• The importance of “water management” in industry

• External expectations

• Managing water within biofuels operations

• Reporting water withdrawals and consumption

• Conclusions

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Water & Industry

• Fresh water is a scarce resource in many locations

• Competition increasing• Population (Water, Energy & Food

Demands)• Economic Growth• Pollution Increasing• Climate Change• Regulations tightening

• Increasing external focus on industrial use

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Water & Industry

Source: Water Resources Group 2030, Charting our Water Future

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Expectations of Industry

• Water management in industry now essential with many drivers

− Access and availability – Challenge of scarcity and water quality

− Human right to water for drinking and sanitation

− Regulation – Competition for resources and increasingly stringent regulations.

− Operations – Risk management – water conservation

− Cost – decisions on cost or decisions on value?

− Stakeholder– Significant NGO, pressure group and investor focus. Growing pressure by civil society, consumers and media.

− Reputation – Licence to operate

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Emerging Themes in Industrial Water Management

• Direct Operations - Water efficiency & targets, technology investment, account for water availability in facility-siting

• Supply Chain Management – encourage supply chain to do the same

• Watershed Management – understand the watershed risks, share the risk and solutions with the stakeholders

• Collective Action – closer ties with civil society organisations, local and national regulators, collective investments

• Public Policy – Contribute to regulations that drive water sustainability, partnering with global initiatives

• Community Engagement – understand water/sanitation challenges, encourage/provide support to local government

• Transparency – publish and share water strategies, withdrawal, impacts, mitigation measures and action on all of above

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How do we apply these principles to biofuels?

• Direct operations – siting of operations, minimise consumption at refinery, maximise irrigation efficiencies, practice fertigation

• Watershed Management –understand constraints within watershed, operational impacts, how biofuels can be managed to minimise impacts/maximise opportunities

• Collective Action/Community Engagement – work with local civil organisations and communities to develop shared solutions in water competitive environments

• Public Policy – work with trades bodies and regulators to develop water management practices

• Transparency – Report water consumption at the different levels: plant, farm, watershed

• A need to fully understand potential and perceived impacts prior to full scale development

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Water Withdrawals & Consumption• Agricultural water use far surpasses that of industrial.

• ~20:1 ratio for a lignocellulosic operation

• Need to consider the different components of water use: green. blue and grey

Green water

Does bio-energy crop change (positive or negative) the runoff characteristics downstream of the crops as a result of changes in ET demand?

Blue waterHow does irrigation (if adopted) change the watershed consumptive use of water?

Seasonal differences?

Use of fertigation as a blue water/fertiliser?

Refinery use and use of water within the crops as a source

Grey waterImpacts of fertiliser and pesticide applications downstream of the cropped lands - potential future liability

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Water Withdrawals & ConsumptionBioenergy needs a common framework that captures the NET water use related to crop growth and refinery processes

REFINERY:

• Water withdrawn from rivers, lakes and aquifers

• Water released from crops in processes

• Treated water − to disposal

− to fertigation

• Aim to define consumed water

• Measurements relatively straightforward

CROPS

• Do we include net green water use?

• Irrigation use − How to define efficiency

− Measures to improve efficiency (e.g. tailwater recapture in for re-use)

• Cost of measurement very high− Measurement v modelling

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Conclusions

• Understanding the watershed in which both refinery and bio-energy crops are located is key to understanding and reporting impacts

− Needs assessment of economic, environmental and social challenges within the watershed

− Essential at pre-feasibility stage to fully understand the constraints and develop the baseline

− Models will play an important part of understanding impact and reporting water use

• The industry needs a common, transparent framework to demonstrate net water use in bio-energy production

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