USAID, GIZ launch conference on grid integration of renewable energy

The US Agency for International Development and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), under bilateral cooperation with the Ministry of Power (MOP) and the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), jointly hosted on Wednesday an international conference on 'Large-Scale Grid Integration of Renewable Energy' here.

More than 300 representatives and energy experts from 28 countries, including the US and Germany are attending the three-day conference to share their experiences, highlight challenges and develop India-specific solutions for integrating large-amount of renewable energy into the system, a US Embassy release said.

India plans to deploy an unprecedented 175 gigawatts of renewable energy into its power grid by 2022, which can greatly strengthen the country's energy security and reduce carbon intensity.

Speaking at the launch of the conference, German Ambassador Martin Ney said: "The need of the hour is to set the priorities right. There are a variety of complex issues, the solution is an intelligent energy mix coupled with the focus on both energy efficiency and renewable energy."

Highlighting the importance of the conference, Mark Anthony White, USAID Mission Director to India, said: "Today's international conference has been organized under USAID's bilateral program with the Ministry of Power called the Greening the Grid and showcases our efforts to increase knowledge exchange between the United States and India to put in place solutions that will move India closer to achieving 175 GW of renewable energy capacity."

--IANS

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