India moving forward on global solar grid proposal through OSOWOG, know the goal behind the plan

India is moving ahead strongly to fulfill its commitment to take steps to prevent climate change. India’s initiative to create an international grid “One Sun One World One Grid (OSOWOG) to enhance its global grid proposal energy security has also received very encouraging response from other countries. This information was given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his address to the ongoing G-20 Energy Ministers’ meeting in Goa.

He said that we are promoting mutual cooperation with our neighboring countries in this area. We are seeing encouraging results in this direction. Despite our different realities, he emphasized that the purposes of energy are still the same. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “Any talk about future, stability or growth and development cannot be complete without energy. It affects development at every level, from individuals to nations.”

Significantly, in November 2021, the Global Solar Grid connecting 140 countries was unveiled on the occasion of the United Nations Climate Conference. This is a major step towards securing and promoting solar energy and is India’s most ambitious renewable project ever. One Sun, One World, One Grid and Green Grid initiatives are also the need of the hour. International grids have emerged as an important solution to propel the world towards a cleaner and greener future. During his speech in Glasgow, Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave this information in his address.

Know what is India’s ambitious global grid project
“One Sun One World One Grid” is such a project, which is the first international network of globally interconnected solar power grids. It will integrate large scale solar power plants, wind plants, rooftop solar panels with grid, community grid. This will guarantee a reliable and reasonably priced source of clean energy. The motto of this “One Sun One World One Grid” scheme is “The sun never sets”, which gives a special impetus to this scheme.

The Government of India and the UK are jointly driving the project with the support of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) and the World Bank Group. will bring together a global coalition of national governments, international financial and technical organizations, legislators, power system operators and knowledge leaders to accelerate the creation of new infrastructure needed for a world powered by clean energy. The task of developing the roadmap for the global grid will be chaired by French electricity utility company, EDF. EDF is a combination of French company AETS and Indian organization The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI). Explain that for the year 2030, an amount of $ 1 trillion has been given for solar investment by the Global Grid Plan.

This is the purpose of the project
The idea of ​​a global solar grid was mooted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the first assembly of the ISA in late 2018. To share solar energy globally, One Sun One World One Grid plans to build and scale inter-regional energy systems that make use of the different time zones, seasons, resources that exist between different countries and regions. The plan will help decarbonize the world’s largest source of greenhouse gas emissions—energy production.

It is noteworthy that the Green Grid Initiative and OSOWOG have partnered with other organizations around the world to create a single GGI-OSOWOG initiative with the goal of coordinating their efforts and activities. According to the ISA website, it aims to bring together low carbon, innovative solar projects, and skilled workers to drive a solar-powered economic recovery. It can also spur investment and create millions of new green jobs.

will work like this
There are three phases to this overall grid system. The Middle East-South Asia-South East Asia interconnection is the focus of the first phase. Its objective is to meet the power requirements, especially the peak demand. This will require the use of renewable energy sources such as solar energy. The third and final phase is about worldwide interconnection. The second phase of the project deals with connecting the MESASEA grid to African power pools. A sea link connection to Oman in the west was also reportedly part of the original plans. PM Modi’s vision is focused on South Asia. This includes encouraging cross-border energy commerce.

At the same time, to meet the power requirements, India is also supplying power to Bangladesh and Nepal. Apart from this, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is also supporting this move, in which Pakistan is not involved.

Target of ‘2600GW interconnection capacity by 2050’
Ajay Mathur, director general of the International Solar Alliance, told The Times of India that state-of-the-art engineering in the network is the main source for the significant increase in the generation of renewable electricity. It will also become a means to effectively reduce climate change in the coming ten years. According to Ajay Mathur, around 2600 GW of interconnection capacity could be deployed globally by the year 2050, resulting in an estimated annual electricity savings of 226 billion Euros. The One Sun Declaration is a prime example of multilateralism, with global leaders coming together to promote sustainable change for a greener world and economy.

It is believed that there is now a move away from fossil fuels to a financially viable solar future. This can prove to be more helpful in change. Through the power of solar and other renewable energy and our joint efforts we can offer affordable, renewable electricity supplies to markets that have historically been disadvantaged.

This development has happened so far in the project
After PM Modi proposed OSOWOG in 2018, a steering committee headed by Indian MNRE was set up in the year 2019, which initiated a technical study. Next year i.e. in September of 2020, an MoU was signed by MNRE, ISA and World Bank of the Government of India at the First World Solar Technology Summit. A consortium of consultants including EDF, AETS and TERI were engaged to conduct a technical study in three phases to prepare the vision and roadmap in May 2021. The technical study is currently being carried out by a consortium led by EDF.

India’s Climate Pledges
According to India, it will achieve net-zero emissions by the year 2070, when the amount of carbon emissions produced is equal to the amount of carbon emissions absorbed. According to Eco Business, OSOWOG is key to India’s net-zero pledges. said Gagan Sidhu of CEEW, a think organization with offices in Delhi that has been monitoring India’s energy transition paths for years. Due to the erratic nature of solar and wind power, battery storage or an additional energy source is used to supplement the renewable energy and stabilize the system.

A new CEEW research estimates that India may need 5,600 GW of solar capacity by 2070 to achieve net zero energy consumption. This figure is 11 times more than the fulfillment of the promise made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi by 2030. Achieving this would require significant investment in expensive battery storage.

According to CEEW’s Gagan Sidhu, “In this context, OSOWOG is seen as one of the potential storage options and low cost of renewable energy integration.” He said the initiative could play an important role in helping to increase international cooperation on climate change measures. This will not only help meet climate commitments, but also enhance energy security and meet development priorities, he added.