India, UK, US, Australia and France form committee to take ISA forward
Ambassador Emmanuel Lenain has endorsed India’s ‘One Sun One World One Grid’ (OSOWOG) initiative, saying France supports India’s solar energy development.
“As the co-president of International Solar Alliance, France fully supports the One Sun One World One Grid (OSOWOG) Initiative, and we are happy to join its steering committee,” said the French envoy in a video message.
“We all share the objectives to increase the share of renewables in the energy matrix. France will fully support India to achieve the ambitious target set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at COP26 in Glasgow.”
“Roughly 10 % of solar capacity in India has been installed by French companies, and we are delighted to support the GGI-OSOWOG mission to make it a success. More than 20GW of capacity addition is in pipeline with French Support”.
Speaking at the International Conference on OSOWOG organized by CII on 9 Dec 2021 over virtual platform, the envoy re-asserted, “France will continue supporting India to achieve its targets through our expertise, latest technology and finances.”
The International Solar Alliance (ISA) is taking the lead in enabling collective global action through a multilateral effort towards net zero under the joint leadership of India and the UK, added its Director General Dr. Ajay Mathur.
A Steering Committee has been formed for Green Grid Initiative-OSOWOG which comprises five members-India, UK, US, Australia, and France. The committee will collectively decide on actions to take OSOWOG initiative forward.
The GGI-OSOWOG offers key benefits for participating countries by providing an opportunity to facilitate in global energy transition, multiple techno economic benefits and building global economic cooperation, he told conference participants.
He elaborated that the idea of cross-border solar connectivity is envisioned to set up a framework for facilitating global cooperation for interconnected renewable energy resources that can be seamlessly shared among nations.
Upendra Tripathi, former Director General of the International Solar Alliance, reaffirmed the vision of the ISA for an interconnected grid. He stated that the grid is planned as a zigzag line and smart grid technology which will integrate different world zones i.e., transmission of energy from the areas who have surplus to those in deficit. The OSOWOG initiative is estimated to be more cost efficient than decarbonizing the existing grid infrastructure.
Pratik Agarwal, Chairman of CII taskforce and Managing Director, Sterlite Power, while moderating the session, stated that CII has been deeply engaged with the initiative of OSOWOG since the very beginning.
“The idea of OSOWOG is lucrative, feasible and implementable which has the potential to reduce 70% Greenhouse gas emissions, caused by fossil fuels. It provides a great opportunity for the world to address climate change challenge while ensuring the energy security,” he said.
For smooth take-off and scaling up of OSOWOG there is a need for “supporting regulatory environment, multilateral funding and vibrant cross-country power trading market”, added Agarwal. fiinews.com
