New Delhi: The U.S. Agency for International Development and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), under the bilateral cooperation with the Ministry of Power (MOP) and the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), jointly hosted today India’s first international conference on “Large-Scale Grid Integration of Renewable Energy” in New Delhi.

More than 300 representatives and energy experts from 28 countries including the United States and Germany are attending the three-day conference to share their experiences, highlight challenges and develop India-specific solutions for integrating large-amount of renewable energy into the system.  India plans to deploy an unprecedented 175 gigawatts of renewable energy into its power grid by 2022, which can greatly strengthen the country’s energy security and reduce carbon intensity.

Speaking at the launch of the conference, Dr. Martin Ney, German Ambassador to India said: “The need of the hour is to set the priorities right. There are a variety of complex issues, the solution is an intelligent energy mix coupled with the focus on both energy efficiency and renewable energy. And nothing better than a platform like this (international conference) to facilitate knowledge sharing through peer-to-peer networking services in the field of large-scale integration of RE into the grid.”

Highlighting the importance of the conference, Mark Anthony White, USAID Mission Director to India, added: “The Government of India has set a precedent in the world and USAID’s commitment toward helping India achieve its clean energy goal is strong and unrelenting. Today’s international conference has been organized under USAID’s bilateral program with the Ministry of Power called the Greening the Gridand showcases our efforts to increase knowledge exchange between the United States and India to put in place solutions that will move India closer to achieving 175 GW of renewable energy capacity.”

The conference aims to stimulate interdisciplinary thinking between renewable energy developers, power transmission and distribution industries, as well as education and research institutions. The opening day covered deliberations between representatives from Ministry of Power, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Central Electricity Authority, Central Electricity and Regulatory Commission, Power System Operation Corporation Limited on technical and economic issues.

Over the next two days, the conference will focus on renewable energy grid integration aspects ranging from forecasting, reliable system operation, transmission and market operation for reliable grid operations under high variability that accompanies clean energy.