All about Project OSOWOG: One World, One Sun, One Grid

The energy to the world is largely supplied by oil, followed by coal, gas, and hydroelectric power. Burning of fossil fuels contributes 3/4th of the greenhouse gas emissions in the world. Not only are we dependent on a limited, non-renewable source of energy, but an energy that is further creating environmental problems for the earth. Once this energy is used up, shifting to any other source is difficult to meet global energy needs. Therefore, gradually developing ways to shift to a renewable source of energy is the need of the hour.

India has three of the world’s five biggest solar plants, so it did a commendable job by taking a global initiative to shift energy usage from fossil fuels to solar energy. PM Narendra Modi tabled this highly ambitious and revolutionary project, OSOWOG in October 2018 at the First Assembly of the International Solar Alliance. The mantra for this initiative is ‘The sun never sets’.

This OSOWOG project is led by India and the UK and aims to meet the energy needs of the world through solar energy.

Current Scenario

The way energy is produced globally, it is contributing to 87% of the global greenhouse gas emissions. The massive carbon emissions emitted by the industrial revolution of several developed countries have created an environmental emergency today.

The world is dealing with two issues with regard to energy. One, where the poor countries have no access to modern sources of energy and are producing energy through traditional sources, which contribute to carbon emissions; and two, where the countries who have access to energy are the biggest producers of greenhouse gas emissions. The issue can be further understood under the following heads:

Energy Poverty

Many people from poor countries with a per capita GDP of less than 25,000 USD do not have access to electricity and clean cooking fuels. They rely on firewood, dung, and crop waste for their energy needs. This has created what the WHO calls ‘the world’s largest single environmental health risk’.

The indoor pollution caused by these sources has increased the risk of early death. It contributes to 1.6 million deaths every year, which is twice the death from poor sanitation.

In East, Central, and West Africa, more than half of energy is produced by burning firewood. It is pertinent to note that not only are these carbon emissions dangerous for the environment and people, but the use of such sources is also contributing to deforestation. Moreover, the lack of modern energy sources means poor living conditions for the people of these countries.

Modern Country Emissions

People in the US, on average, emit more carbon dioxide in 4 days than the poor countries like Uganda, Malawi, and Ethiopia present in a year. Diana Ivanova and Richard Wood (2020) showed that the richest 1% of the European Union produces 43 tonnes of carbon dioxide, which is 9 times more than the global average (4.8 tonnes).

Although the problem is largely caused by rich countries, the basic issue is that the greenhouse gas emissions of the majority of the world’s population are extremely high.

Effects of Greenhouse Gases

These increases in greenhouse gases have led to some drastic effects on the world:

1. Increase in the global temperature.
2. The US and Australia are experiencing some of the devastating bushfires.
3. locust swarms across parts of Africa, the Middle East, and Asia that decimated the crops.
4. The temperature of Antarctica for the first time went above 20 degrees Celsius and many more.
5. Scientists are warning about a sixth mass extinction if greenhouse gas emissions are not curbed.

Why Solar Energy is seen as a Global Saviour?

Solar energy is emerging as a sustainable alternative to conventional sources of energy. It is seen as a global saviour for the following benefits that it provides:

1) Clean and green energy

Solar energy is an alternative to sources of energy that emit greenhouse gases. Moreover, thermal power plants require huge amounts of water to control their temperature. Solar power plants produce energy in a clean way without any pollution or difficulty.

2) Maintenance

Maintenance of solar power plants is easy. It has to be cleaned just twice a year. However, it has to be done by the experts. The inverters that are a part of the system have to be replaced every 5 to 10 years. Solar plants demand very little maintenance and repair costs once they are installed.

3) Safer than Other Sources

Solar plant’s energy generation is safer than the other power generation plants. Thermal power plant energy generation or generation of energy from oil has its risk factors involved.

4) Renewable Energy

Solar energy would never exhaust. Investing in it would be developing a source of energy that is sustainable. Renewable energy business is the future of sustainable industry in India.

5) Reduction in Electricity Bills

Since the power is generated from a sustainable, abundant source of energy, the electricity bills will be very low compared to the present bills from conventional sources of energy.

Experiments by India

In 2015, Cochin Airport became the world’s first solar-powered airport. All the energy needs of the airport are met by solar energy. It started with just 400 solar panels and currently has over 46000 panels. It cost over 62 crores. However, the airport recovered this cost in just 4 years. It is no longer paying for electricity. Kolkata airport also used the same approach, and now both these airports operate on solar energy. Conducting ESDD in solar energy industry is crucial in current scenario.

Bhadla, a region in Rajasthan, almost unlivable for its temperature, was utilised to build a solar park. It is spread to a total area of over 14,000 acres and is the world’s largest solar park that has a capacity to produce 2,245 MW of energy. The second largest Pavagada solar park is followed by several other solar parks that have turned successful.

Issues with the Solar Energy

Despite having many benefits and several successful experiments, there are 3 main issues with the solar power plants:

1) Solar is Intermittent

On cloudy days, during monsoons, and at night, solar energy cannot be generated. One cannot generate electricity from solar energy 24/7.

2) Solar is Diluted

All the energy is not concentrated in one place. It takes a lot of space and small countries would rather prefer thermal plants over it.

3) Solar Power Cannot be Stored

Solar energy cannot be effectively and efficiently stored. The demand has to be constantly matched to the supply. After electricity is generated, it is transmitted and then used. For this, a grid system is required in each country.

One World, One Sun, One Grid(OSOWOG Project)

The OWOSOG project transcends the boundaries to answer all these issues. It says that ‘the sun never sets’. The OWOSOG is concerned with “when the world comes together and installs a mutual grid system, all the countries shall receive electricity irrespective of the weather conditions there”. The one who shall have day will supply energy to the countries experiencing night.

The countries enjoying summer shall supply electricity to the countries undergoing monsoon. This way, the energy requirements of the whole world are met when global cooperation takes place. The countries that come between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn are called Sunshine countries. These countries can play a major role in solar power generation.

Three Phases of OSOWOG

The OSOWOG is divided into 3 phases-

Phase 1:

In the first phase of OSOWOG, the Middle East, South Asia, and South East Asia will be connected to the Indian Grid.

Phase 2:

The grid will be interconnected to the African power pools in the second phase of OSOWOG initiative.

Phase 3:

Global interconnection of solar power grid shall be achieved under OSOWOG initiative.

The initiative aims to achieve energy generation of up to 2600 GW through a global grid interconnection by the year 2050.

Support of the International Solar Alliance

The First Assembly of the International Solar Alliance became a platform for tabling this initiative. An International Solar Alliance was entered upon by 119 signatory countries. This alliance was initiated by India and France on November 30, 2015, during the Paris Climate Conference (COP 21).

 The primary objective of this initiative is to work towards efficient utilisation of solar energy that eventually will reduce the dependence on fossil fuels. The International Solar Alliance can be summarised as follows:

Objectives of the Alliance

Some of the significant objectives of alliance are mentioned below-

1) Mobilization of Investments:

The ISA aims to mobilize more than 1,000 billion USD by 2030 for the deployment of solar energy on a large scale. It also aims at reducing the cost of solar energy and associated technologies.

2) Collaborative Efforts:

The aim is to undertake joint efforts to lower the cost of finance and technology.

3) Technological Advancement:

The alliance aims at promoting research and development to adapt future technologies that can meet the member countries needs.

Guiding Principles of the Alliance

The Guiding principles of the alliance is to engage in voluntary programs and activities to harmonize and aggregate demand for solar resources as well as to establish close cooperation among the members to set up robust mechanisms for finance, technology, and capacity building. This also includes the exchange of knowledge and best practices to optimize the use of solar energy.

Key Initiatives taken under this Alliance

There are several key initiatives that have been undertaken under this alliance. They are as follows:

1) Scaling Solar Applications for Agricultural Use:

It focuses on promoting solar pumps instead of diesel or electric pumps. This initiative supports farmers by providing reliable and affordable energy for irrigation.

2) Affordable Finance at Scale:

This initiative works towards coming up with innovative financial mechanisms to lower the cost of capital for solar projects. It is under this initiative that the mobilization of financial resources for large-scale solar projects is done.

3) Scaling Solar Mini Grids:

This initiative promotes the deployment of solar mini-grids to ensure energy access in remote areas. The aim of this initiative is to support sustainable and resilient solar energy infrastructure in deserved regions.

The Green Grid Initiative

In May 2021, the United Kingdom and India agreed to combine the Green Grid Initiative with the OSOWOG initiative and to jointly launch it at the COP26 summit that was going to be hosted in Glasgow in November 2021. Eventually, on November 2, 2021, at the COP26 summit, the PM of India, Mr Narendra Modi and the PM of the UK, Mr Borris Johnson, jointly launched the GGI-OSOWOG initiative in the ‘Accelerating Innovation and Clean Technology Deployment’ event.

Union Budget 2024

The Union Budget 2024 of India launched the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana, which aims to install solar rooftops and enable 1 crore households to obtain free electricity up to 300 units every month.  This scheme has received a huge response, with 1.28 crore registrations completed and more than 14 lakh applications received.

Conclusion

India has aimed to achieve 500 GW of non-fossil fuel-based power generation capacity by 2030. With respect to solar power plants, there are still several challenges to beat. The main one is building the capacity to manufacture solar panels. Solar panels today are largely manufactured in China. Moreover, solar panels are expensive.

With a joint initiative with the ISA, a reduction in production costs may be achieved. It will not only benefit India but also the global fraternity to move towards sustainable development.

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