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On Tuesday, November 2, 2021 Narendra Modi will announce the launch of a global solar transmission grid. This project could make it possible to generate solar energy in a very sunny country, and then pass it on to others. This grid will be overseen by the International Solar Alliance (ASI), an organization based in the country.
With our correspondent in New Delhi, Sebastian Farsis
Capturing solar energy in a country where it is daylight, to transfer it to another country where it is already dark. This is the idea of this global network. Its first advantage: allowing more countries to take advantage of this cheap renewable energy, without having to store it.
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Ajay Mathur is the Director of the International Solar Alliance which is launching this project. ” We study four connections, He explains. That is between North Africa and Europe, between Singapore and Australia, between East Asia and India, and between India and the Gulf states. To achieve it, we asked the French electric company, EDF, to study its technical feasibility and tell us which regulatory institutions would be necessary. »
These questions will indeed be very sensitive, because transmitting electricity over thousands of kilometers can be very costly, especially if it goes through submarine cables. This would make solar energy less competitive.
Above all, regional rivalries can create insurmountable barriers to linking India to the Gulf, for example. If we want to avoid diving under the sea, Kabul will have to cross Pakistan, India’s archenemy.
For Re-reading: Solar Energy in India, the Revolution Underway (2017)
