India Invites Bid For One Sun One World One Grid – Free PDF Download

INDIA’S INDC AT PARIS CLIMATE AGREEMENT

• India has pledged to improve the emissions intensity of its GDP by 33 to 35 per cent by 2030 below 2005 levels.
• It has agreed to enhance its forest cover which will absorb 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO_2, the main gas  responsible for global warming) by 2030.
• It has also pledged to increase the share of non-fossil fuels- based electricity to 40 per cent by 2030.

INTERNATIONAL SOLAR ALLIANCE

• It is an initiative jointly launched by the Prime Minister of India and the President of France on 30 November 2015 at Paris, on  the sidelines of Conference of Parties (CoP 21) to the United  Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
• Headquarters- National Institute for Solar Energy, Gurugram (Haryana), India.
• After ratification by a minimum number of countries, on 6 December 2017,
• ISA became the first full-fledged treaty-based international intergovernmental organization headquartered in India.
• It aims at addressing obstacles to deployment at the scale of solar energy through better harmonization and aggregation of  demand from solar rich countries lying fully or partially  between the Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn.

• 1^st assembly of International Solar Alliance
• The Prime Minister called for connecting solar energy supply across borders, giving the mantra of ‘One World, One Sun, One, Grid’.
• Considers the International Solar Alliance as the future OPEC for meeting the energy needs of the world.
• Oil cartel OPEC led by Saudi Arabia currently meets close to half of the world’s oil needs.
• Solar power will play the same role that oil wells have played over the past few decades in meeting global energy needs.

• The ambitious task unveiled on 26 May
• The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has invited proposals from eligible consulting firms for-

1. Developing a long-term vision,
2. Implementation plan,
3. Road map and
4. Institutional framework

• For implementing One World One Grid ‘One Sun  (OSOWOG).
• The OSOWOG initiative is planned across 3 phases:
• Phase I (Middle East-South Asia-South East Asia (MESASEA) interconnection):
• Indian Grid interconnection with Middle East, South Asia and South-East Asian grids to share solar and other  renewable energy resources for meeting electricity needs  including peak demand.
• The initial plans also involve setting up an under- sea link to connect with Oman in the West.
• Phase II (Solar and other Renewable Energy resources-rich regions’ interconnection):
• MESASEA grid getting interconnected with the African power pools to share solar and other renewable energy power of the  countries located in solar and renewable energy-rich areas.
• Phase III (Global interconnection):
• To achieve the One Sun One World One Grid

BENEFITS

• An interconnected grid would help all the participating entities in attracting investments in renewable energy sources  as well as utilizing skills, technology and finances.
• Resulting economic benefits would positively impact poverty alleviation and support in mitigating water, sanitation, food and other socioeconomic challenges

WORLD SOLAR BANK

• India also looking at setting up a World Solar Bank (WSB) to be headquartered here, that may require a total equity capital of $10 billion.
• The proposed bank comes in the backdrop of Beijing taking the lead in creating Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank  (AIIB) and the New Development Bank (NDB).

COUNTERING CHINA

• This also comes in the backdrop of the US withdrawal from the Paris climate deal and
• China’s attempts to co-opt countries into its ambitious One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative,
• A programme to invest billions of dollars in infrastructure projects, including railways, ports and power grids,  across Asia, Africa and Europe.

COUNTERING CHINA

• This also comes in the backdrop of the US withdrawal from the Paris climate deal and
• China’s attempts to co-opt countries into its ambitious One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative,
• A programme to invest billions of dollars in infrastructure projects, including railways, ports and power grids,  across Asia, Africa and Europe.

• In his address to the nation on 12 May during the ongoing pandemic Modi said, “International Solar Alliance is India’s gift against Global Warming.”

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