India, UK to launch solar Green Grids Initiative at COP26 climate summit

India and the UK are set to enhance their International Solar Alliance (ISA) partnership with the launch of a new Green Grids Initiative connecting different parts of the world at the United Nations (UN) COP26 climate summit in Glasgow.

The new Global Green Grids Initiative One Sun One World One Grid (GGI-OSOWOG) is an evolution of ISA's OSOWOG multilateral drive to foster interconnected solar energy infrastructure at a global scale.

The new Green Grids Initiative, to be launched at COP26 on Tuesday, will mark a merging of flagship interconnection initiatives from India and the UK as part of their bilateral cooperation.

The Green Grids Initiative aims to start with a coalition of the willing, such as two countries that would mutually benefit from the transfer of solar electricity and in time, lower costs of solar around the world, said Dr Ajay Mathur, Director General of ISA.

It is a huge opportunity not only for India and the UK, but for countries to come together to utilise the greatest source of energy the sun. The sun is shining somewhere around the globe, even though it might have set someplace else, and the scale of GGI-OSOWOG will not only change clean energy access but could very well be the next biggest modern engineering marvel, 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.

ISA, headed by Director General Mathur and with 98 countries supporting its framework, is aimed at facilitating energy transition at a global level, energy security at national levels, while also ensuring energy access at the local level.

The alliance said it is working with development banks to bring the benefits of solar across the world. Apart from bringing down prices for solar water pumps, it is enabling technological transfer, storage solutions, financial assistance, along with skilling and enabling countries to adopt solar.

It added: The ISA is an observer to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and has been an active participant at Conference of Parties (COPs).

"To continue with ISA's efforts at global outreach, the ISA Secretariat will participate in the forthcoming 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26), to be held under the UK presidency, at Glasgow (Scotland) between 1 November and 12 November 2021.