India launches Green Grids, OSOWOG and IRIS at COP26 on Day-2 of parleys

India launched the ambitious ‘One Sun, One World, One Grid’ (OSOWOG) programme on the second day of the negotiations at the global climate conference COP26 on Tuesday.

The project was launched along with the Green Grids Initiative (GGI) of the UK. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Indian PM Narendra Modi jointly presented a One Sun Declaration. It was also decided to set up a ‘Ministerial Steering Group’, which includes France, India, the UK and the US, and will also have representatives from Africa, the Gulf, Latin America and Southeast Asia.

Launching the OSOWOG, Modi said, “I am hopeful that a common and strong global grid can be developed through cooperation between ‘One Sun, One World & One Grid’ and ‘Green Grid’ initiatives.” He added that Isro will provide a solar calculator application to the world, which will be useful in deciding the location of solar projects and will strengthen OSOWOG initiative. 

From India, the OSOWOG is led by the International Solar Alliance (ISA). At the fourth assembly of ISA, held last month in India, 80 member countries endorsed a political ‘One Sun Declaration’, for the launch of GGI-OSOWOG at COP26 at Glasgow.

Ajay Mathur, director general, ISA, told Business Standard that the project would entail that networked cross-border grid systems will need to be put in place. “While technicalities of the project are being worked out, there definitely will be an ecosystem of interconnected green grids required to meet the needs of 140 countries,” he said.

The OSOWOG initiative was presented at the fourth assembly of ISA and as a key enabler of energy transition, the UK and India joined hands and merge the Green Grids Initiative (GGI) and OSOWOG into GGI-OSOWOG as part of bilateral cooperation, formalised during the UK-India Virtual Summit earlier this year.

Mathur said the GGI-OSOWOG will bring together a global coalition of national governments, international financial and technical organisations, legislators, power system operators and knowledge leaders to accelerate the construction of the new infrastructure needed for a world powered by clean energy.

PM Modi on the second day of his visit to COP26 also addressed the launch of the ‘Infrastructure for Resilient Island States’ (IRIS) initiative, which aims to provide technical support on the issues posed by infrastructure systems and promote disaster and climate resilience of infrastructure assets in Small Island developing states.

Modi said India will fully support this new project, and work closely with CDRI, other partner countries and the UN for its success. “Through IRIS, it will be easier and faster for small islands to mobilize technology, finance, and necessary information,” he said.