UN launches initiative to modernize power grids in Africa and Southeast Asia — Climate Home News
The UN has launched the Global Grids Accelerator in New York, an initiative aimed at accelerating investment in the expansion and modernization of power grids in Africa and Southeast Asia. UN Secretary-General António Guterres presented the program on September 23 on the sidelines of the UN climate summit.
As Climate Home News reports, the initiative is intended to help turn government plans for electricity infrastructure development into projects ready to attract investment. To achieve this, it will bring together UN agencies, development banks, investors and grid operators around priorities defined by governments.
Without a new financing fund
The UN clarified that the Global Grids Accelerator will not create a separate financial institution, and no additional funding for grid upgrades was presented when the initiative was announced. Its role will be to coordinate expertise, financing and other support for the implementation of infrastructure projects.
Guterres called power grids “the arteries of the energy transition,” necessary to expand access to electricity, strengthen energy security and support the economic growth of developing countries.
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Grids are failing to keep pace with renewable energy
Renewable energy development is proceeding faster than the construction of infrastructure to transmit the electricity generated to consumers. Due to insufficient grid capacity, some “green” electricity cannot be accepted by the system. According to the International Energy Agency, more than 2,500 GW of renewable energy projects worldwide are awaiting grid connection.
The IEA estimates that more than 80 million kilometers of power grids need to be built or modernized by 2040 to achieve national climate goals. Annual investment in grid infrastructure must increase by approximately 50% by 2030.
Priorities for two regions
In Africa, the program will focus on developing national grids and regional cross-border interconnections, including under the Mission 300 initiative, which envisages connecting 300 million Africans to electricity by 2030. In Southeast Asia, it will support the ASEAN Power Grid, which provides for linking the region’s power systems and cross-border electricity trade.
According to the publication, insufficient grid capacity was one of the reasons why between 50% and 60% of renewable energy projects in Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia were canceled or suspended in 2021–2025.
