The Green Pipeline Project

Abstract

The Green Pipeline Project is a pioneering initiative in Portugal that integrates green hydrogen into the natural gas network. This article highlights the potential benefits of the project for India, including reduced carbon emissions, enhanced energy security, and improved air quality. By transitioning to renewable energy sources, India can mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and decrease dependence on imported fossil fuels. The project also raises important considerations regarding Indian environmental regulations, such as climate change laws, coastal development regulations, and forest and wildlife protection. Adapting legal and regulatory frameworks to accommodate evolving hydrogen technology is crucial. The Green Pipeline Project represents a significant step towards a sustainable energy future, underscoring the need for proactive measures to address legal and regulatory challenges associated with hydrogen pipeline transport. Comprehensive analysis of the project's implications will support India's renewable energy goals, bolster energy security, and contribute to environmental conservation efforts.

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The Green Pipeline Project is a ground-breaking initiative in Portugal that will integrate green hydrogen into the natural gas network for the first time. Over 80 residential, non-residential, and industrial customers in the residential, non-residential, and industrial sectors will get a blend of hydrogen and natural gas through this closed network in Seixal. The mix will initially contain 2% hydrogen and subsequently expand to 20% hydrogen within two years, with injection scheduled to commence at the beginning of 2023. It will have a growingly positive effect on energy independence, economic growth, and environmental protection. It is the first step in bringing the energy of the future into our present.

India may benefit from the Green Pipeline Project in several ways since it has lofty goals for renewable energy and suffers from several energy-related difficulties.

1. Reduced Carbon Emissions: India is the third-largest producer of greenhouse gases globally, with the energy sector accounting for a sizable amount of these emissions. The Green Pipeline Project can assist India in lowering its carbon emissions by switching to renewable energy for its power instead of fossil fuels.

2. India is highly dependent on imported fossil fuels to cover its energy demands, which puts it at risk of fluctuating prices and supply shortages. By lowering India's reliance on imported fossil fuels and diversifying its energy sources, the Green Pipeline Project can increase the country's energy security.

3. Air Quality Improvement: The severe air pollution in India's cities negatively influences the populace's health. Renewable energy sources, which emit little or no air pollution, can raise the nation's air quality.

In general, the Green Pipeline Project can assist India in achieving its goals for renewable energy, enhancing energy security, promoting rural electrification, supporting job creation, enhancing air quality, and conserving water resources. Infrastructure design, regulatory frameworks, and finance are other project-related issues that must be resolved to be effective.

Indian environmental regulations, particularly those on renewable energy and infrastructure development, are likely to be impacted by the Green Pipeline Project.

1. Climate Change Laws: The Green Pipeline Project is projected to support India's attempts to combat climate change by lowering carbon emissions. The National Action Plan on Climate Change, the National Adaptation Fund for Climate Change, and the National Clean Energy Fund are just a few of the climate change-related pieces of legislation India passed and offer a legal framework for climate change mitigation and adaptation.

2. Rules governing coastal development: The Green Pipeline Project may entail building pipes down the coast, which might affect coastal populations and ecosystems. The Coastal Regulation Zone Notification, 2011, which governs development activities in the coastal zone, is likely to apply to the project.

3. Regulations about forests and wildlife: The Green Pipeline Project may call for the purchase of land, which may entail the destruction of forests or wildlife habitats. The Forest Conservation Act of 1980 and the Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972, which control forest clearing and preserve animal habitats, will likely apply to the project.

Hydrogen is a crucial part of many promising new technologies. There may be a pre-existing body of scientific knowledge, but the market mechanisms and economic factors may not. Also, the current technology may be affected by the ongoing attempts to turn hydrogen into an economically viable alternative fuel. As a result, technological progress will prompt new rules and laws to be enacted. It's too soon to tell what kind of changes may be needed to the legal framework to keep up with the developments in hydrogen technology, but some potential questions include the following: Are both sets of regulations applicable to a pipeline carrying, say, 80% hydrogen and 20% natural gas? To what extent do you favour a 50/50 split? Some solutions to these issues will emerge in the next few years as a result of policy directives and legal or regulatory rules. Stakeholders in the outcomes of others' cases will bring such cases to court. For legislators, policymakers, and lawyers to account for potential future shifts, it is generally a good idea to implement what is now accepted practise.

From a legal and regulatory perspective, repurposing a pipeline is not as simple as switching the fuel entering the pipeline, as the previous explanation shows. Although many questions remain unanswered, it is important to discuss how the law may and should regulate hydrogen pipeline transport given the widespread interest in and optimism about hydrogen as a key alternative fuel and the fact that pipeline transport is the most economically viable mode of carrying hydrogen.

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*This article is authored by Anchita Berry & Saumya Garg, Students from Symbiosis Law School, Noida and reviewed by Yavisth Makkar, Student from Symbiosis Law School, Noida.