Can PVC Conduit be Used on an Unfinished Basement Wall?
You are much better off using EMT metal conduit. I find it easier to work, you can bend it yourself with any pipe bender, and the EMT provides the ground for you, so you don't need to wire a ground.  That saves you 33% on wire.  I work exclusively in EMT and I never owned any green wire until I did an extension in PVC. 

By the way, in any conduit you are better off using individual wires, called THHN/THWN-2, or alternately XHHW.  Using Romex in conduit isn't illegal, but it requires being a masochist or overspending on wildly oversized conduit. Also you can only put 1 cable per conduit unless the conduit is super oversized.  In wires, you can put as 5-6 circuits in a 1/2" conduit. 

In wires (not cables), you can also use stranded wire, which is super easy to pull, although a little harder to terminate on cheapie switches and receptacles. 

Second circuits in garages can be rather useful when dust collectors are involved.