AMN / WEB DESK
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his UK counterpart Boris Johnson on Nov 2 launched an ambitious plan for the world’s first transnational network of interconnected solar power grids—Green Grids Initiative: One Sun One World One Grid —at the UN Climate Conference, also known as the Conference of Parties (COP26) in Glasgow.
The initiative aims to provide countries across the world with clean energy drawn from the sun through a series of interconnected grids. Australia, France, India, the US and UK are the main members of the initiative, which has the backing of 80 members of the 99 nation strong International Solar Alliance (ISA). India and France launched the ISA on the sidelines of the Paris COP21 summit in 2015.
In his speech at the event where Johnson was also present, Modi noted that fossil fuels had spurred the industrial revolution, but they had impoverished the environment. Moreover, fossil fuels have triggered geopolitical tensions, he said. “The challenge is that solar energy is available only in the day and is also dependent on weather. ‘One Sun, One World, One Grid’ is the answer to this challenge. With a worldwide grid, clean energy will be available everywhere, every time. This will lessen the need for storage and increase the viability of solar projects,” Modi said.
“With this creative initiative, the carbon footprint will be reduced, and the cost of energy will also come down. It will also foster a spirit of cooperation among different countries and regions of the world,” the prime minister said.
In his remarks, Johnson said that the UK was “working hand-in-hand with our friends in India to transform the future of the power sector and ensure clean and reliable electricity is accessible everywhere by the end of this decade.”
“It’s fantastic that more than 80 countries have backed our newly launched Green Grids Initiative, whose collaboration will not only see greater growth, jobs and investment in our global green future but also make sure no one is left without access to energy,” he said.
The partnerships, initiatives and discussions that the ISA will be leading at COP26 will provide the necessary impetus for delivering these transitions. The ISA invites nations, institutions and stakeholders with aligned interests and investment appetite to partner and accelerate global solar-led energy transition, he noted.
This initiative will bring together an international coalition of national governments, financial organisations, and power system operators to accelerate the construction of new infrastructure needed to deliver a massive scale-up of secure, reliable and affordable power, such as modern, flexible grids, charging points, and electricity interconnectors, the UK’s Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) said, in reference to the joint project.
ISA recently announced a partnership with Bloomberg Philanthropies to mobilise USD 1 trillion in global investments for solar energy across ISA’s member countries. The two organisations plan to work with the World Resources Institute (WRI) to develop a Solar Investment Action Agenda and a Solar Investment Roadmap, which will also be launched at COP26.
India-led ISA, an inter-governmental treaty-based international organisation with a global mandate to catalyse global solar growth by helping to reduce the cost of financing and technology for solar, is designed to establish solar energy as a shared solution that simultaneously addresses climate, energy, and economic priorities across geographies.