India, UK likely to announce ‘green grid’ at COP26 summit

India and the UK are likely to announce a joint declaration on “one sun, one world, one grid” — or OSOWOG, a concept New Delhi has been pushing through its International Solar Alliance — at the upcoming COP26.

Both countries have been working towards achieving this concept, and the joint venture will be signed by energy ministers of the two nations in the presence of the two Prime Ministers, according to sources.

“We expect Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend the conference. His UK counterpart, Boris Johnson, has personally invited the PM,” a source said.

The UN Climate Change Conference, or COP26, is scheduled to be held between October 31 and November 12 in Scotland.

The concept of OSOWOG, which the British have called a green grid, has been personally guided and pushed by Modi and found mention in his Independence Day speech this year. The concept pitches the idea of a transnational solar grid, from which different countries can draw power.

“While the declaration will be made by India and the UK, other countries will also participate, including the ASEAN nations, the US, EU and African nations, a source said. “The idea is to scale up the proposal and involve as many countries as possible. Our aim is that by 2050, a single power grid of renewable energy be accessible across continents — with production in one continent and distribution of power in another.”

The climate parliament secretariat is handling details of the proposal and more than 100 energy ministers from across the world will sign the proposal, the source said.

The government has been working on the concept of OSOWOG since 2015, engaging with other energy ministers. The idea was first floated by Modi in 2018 at the first meeting of International Solar Alliance, which will also take a lead on this venture. The climate secretariat will put a road map in place at COP26, on how to achieve this vision.

In June this year, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy came out with a request for proposal to hire consultants for converting this idea into a policy and its draft plan envisages connecting 140 countries through a common grid.