Networking through the sun

Establishing the cross-border flow of green energy under the One Sun declaration will involve many complexities

- JYOTI MUKUL

One Sun declaration: Six-point global framework

• Investing in solar, wind, storage and other renewable energy generation for supporting a global grid

• Building long-distance cross-border transmission lines to connect generators and demand centres

• Developing and deploying technologies to modernize power systems

• Supporting transition to zero-emission vehicles through incorporating EVS

• Attracting investment into solar mini-grids and off-grid systems to help vulnerable communities

• Developing innovative financial instruments, market structures, and facilitate financial and technical assistance

India has been the key driver of a transnational electricity grid that plans to enable free flow of renewable power among countries. The idea is based on the concept that the sun never sets and it is possible that one part of the world uses nighttime power that is being generated elsewhere in the daytime. This was the thinking behind the One Sun Declaration by the International Solar Alliance (ISA) along with the UK COP26 presidency last week. It aims to promote the cross-border flow of green energy through an exclusive network of large generators, decentralized energy systems, storage, and transmission and distribution systems. This means not only combining ISA's One Sun One World One Grid (OSOWOG) and the UK's Green Grid Initiative but also creating a world of electricity networks that will run parallel to conventional power.