.jpg){kind=logo}
On 23 September, the GGI team hosted an event during the Global Clean Energy Forum (GCEAF), Pittsburgh. GCEAF promotes policies and programs that advance the deployment of clean energy technologies.
SUMMARY STATEMENT
The Green Grids Initiative – One Sun One World One Grid (GGI-OSOWOG) was launched last year at COP26 to enable the fundamental step to a clean powered future: how to build and operate electricity grids that can flexibly handle ever greater shares of variable renewable while meeting growing power demands sustainably, securely, reliably, and affordably. The right grid infrastructure is critical, to the energy transition, and we need to act this decade to keep 1.5oC on track. The International Energy Agency estimate that the $260bn per annum spent globally on grids today needs to increase to $820bn per annum by 2030, a threefold increase.
Put simply, there is no transition without transmission.
Speaking on behalf of Members of the Steering Committee, at the Global Clean Energy Action Forum in Pittsburgh, the UK Minister for Climate, Graham Stuart underlined the support of the GGI-OSOWOG ecosystem to deliver progress on:
Developing key energy interconnection corridors in southern Africa, working with the Southern African Power Pool and African Union.
Creating a set of voluntary principles to provide a blueprint for interconnection and energy trading in the Asia Pacific region, to aid interconnectivity projects such as the ASEAN Power Grid and unlock the full potential of renewables in the region as well as increase energy security and resilience.
Developing a knowledge sharing platform for Small Islands Developing States, to address the specific grid challenges they face in accelerating the clean energy transition
Taskforces under [GGI] working groups on Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Finance have been set up to drive forward these projects and to advance the action agenda of the GGI-OSOWOG.
This event also introduced a new, open-source tool for creating global electricity system models; OSeMOSYS Global.[1] This will allow countries to gain rapid insights into the viability of potential interconnection projects to support clean energy transitions.
These efforts are being supported by a global ecosystem of political, institutional, financial, and technical partners committed to accelerating the development and deployment of green grids infrastructure globally. This includes international bodies, such as the International Solar Alliance, Regulatory Energy Transitions Accelerator, and Global Power System Transformation Consortium as well as private industry, including National Grid and, as technical expert for ISA studies, EDF.
Speakers reaffirmed their support for the GGI-OSOWOG, which offers an innovative platform to enable the transformational collaboration needed as part of a global push to reach our clean energy goals.
Building on the commitments made in the One Sun Declaration at COP26, Glasgow, these announcements represent the next step in taking forward this vital agenda.
Background
An unprecedented deployment of grids is critical to unlocking the full potential of renewables, reducing the cost of transition, and enhancing energy security. Global electricity networks that took over 130 years to build need to more than double in total length by 2040 and increase by another 25% by 2050.[2]
The GGI-OSOWOG was launched at COP26 World Leaders Summit by India and the UK, setting out an ambitious but critical agenda to accelerate the deployment of grids to unlock the full potential of the global clean energy transition. Backed by over 90 countries, the One Sun Declaration set out a shared vision of harnessing the full potential of clean power globally through greater interconnection of electricity grids across continents, countries and communities.