Industry
India explores power links with Saudi Arabia, UAE
Summary
- Talks are also on with Singapore to connect grids through undersea cable
- Once ready, this could cut the need for costly clean energy storage
NEW DELHI : India is considering linking its power grid to those of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates through undersea cables, with India’s power ministry circulating Cabinet notes for inter-ministerial consultation to initiate the process to expand access to reliable power and enhance the country’s energy security.
Further, India is also in talks with Singapore to link the city state with its power grid via an undersea cable link, Raj Kumar Singh, Union minister for power and new and renewable energy, said in an interview.
Once approved by the Union cabinet, bilateral agreements will be signed with Saudi Arabia and the UAE for the mega projects, which will be bid out after detailed project reports are created, Singh said, adding that the countries will assess the viability of each project before proceeding.
“The India-UAE agreement is in the final stages. So, the cabinet note has been circulated for the interconnection agreement. Then the detailed project report (DPR) will be prepared, and later, the project will be bid out. Then, there would be an interconnection with Saudi Arabia. That is also under consideration, and the cabinet note is being circulated. Talks have also started with Singapore for direct interconnectivity between the two countries," Singh said.
By sharing power resources across different regions, countries can reduce the need for costly renewable energy storage solutions and improve the reliability of their power grids. India’s pursuit of grid interconnectivity could also prove critical to its long-term economic and energy security goals.
Queries sent to the embassies of Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Singapore remained unanswered till press time.
India is pursuing the One Sun One World One Grid (OSOWOG) plan, which aims to connect countries through a global power grid as a counter to China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
The draft framework for the global grid is ready. The first phase deals with the Middle East, South Asia, South East Asia (MESASEA) interconnection for sharing green energy sources such as solar for meeting electricity needs.
The second phase involves linking the MESASEA grid with African power pools, and the third phase aims for global interconnection.
“The OSOWOG initiative was conceived to ensure power supply from a country having a surplus of power produced through renewable sources to countries with a deficit in supply during a given point. It is a very important initiative as it would help countries to export clean energy beyond their local requirements," said A.K. Saxena, senior director for electricity and fuels at The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI).
On 25 January, Mint reported India and the UAE announced plans to conduct a feasibility study for linking their power grids via undersea cables as part of the OSOWOG initiative.
A task force set up by the Indian power ministry has examined the feasibility of interconnecting the regional grids of Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Europe for renewable energy sharing.
India is already pursuing bilateral interconnectivity projects with Sri Lanka, the Maldives, and Myanmar.
According to a statement released by the ministry in December, an Indian technical team visited the Maldives in 2022 to study the technical specifications of interconnection between India and Maldives through Lakshadweep. Further, talks for overhead connectivity of the national power grids of India and Sri Lanka are also underway.
The charter for the OSOWOG has been finalized, and a steering committee is being set up, the ministry said.
TERI’s Saxena said India would assess multiple power transmission corridors and select the most feasible routes for the global grid connectivity project.
This is not the first time undersea interconnectivity projects have been proposed, with the Australia-Asia PowerLink project being a prominent example. The project, which aims to connect Australia and Singapore at an estimated cost of $21 billion, has faced obstacles and is yet to take off.
