On 12 March 2021, a hybrid meeting of the Indo-German Energy Forum (IGEF) Subgroup IV about “Green Energy Grid Integration” now renamed as “Green Energy Grid Integration” was held. It was co-chaired by Ms. Aparna Bhatia, Adviser, Bilateral Cooperation, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Government of India and Mr. Philipp Knill, Head of Division India and South Asia, of Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The meeting was attended by the officials of DEA, BMZ, German Embassy, KfW, GIZ, MNRE, MOP, PGCIL, POSOCO, CEA and IGEF-SO.

In her welcome address, Ms. Bhatia referred to the six-decades long cooperation between India and Germany. She mentioned that the Flagship Programme of Green Energy Corridors is of great importance and the commitment of € 1.4 Billion to the project is the cornerstone of cooperation between the two countries in the field of renewable energy.

Echoing the views of the Indian Cochair that the meeting promised a rich agenda for discussions, Mr. Philipp Knill referred to the upcoming 6th Indo-German Cabinet Consultations in May/June 2021.The 50% RE share in net generation in Germany in the year 2020 is a reminder for both sides to make long term plans and to learn from each other´s experiences in integrating RE into the grid. Mr. Knill noted that building the grid infrastructure takes thrice as long as building RE generation projects and hence it is crucial to plan the transmission infrastructure to facilitate smoothly the RE transfer.

After updates by KFW, GIZ, IGEF-SO and PWC on the IGEF study on PSP hydro potential financing in 3 select states and comments/inputs by stakeholders, the following important decisions were made:

• GEC Financing: DEA and MNRE will schedule a meeting soon to resolve the pending issues
• DEA to facilitate communication with nodal ministries/ states for ongoing/ new studies. IGEF-SO to submit a brief outline about proposed ideas
• Capacity building on electricity market design via VC exclusively for Indian policymakers and other public sector stakeholders -IGEF-SO will obtain MNRE /MoP concurrence 
• A presentation on recent findings on the pumped hydro study to be made to all 3 states identified in the report to identify any potential investment opportunity by KFW
• IGEF-SO to discuss with MNRE for a potential study on siting of upcoming RE generation projects to minimize the cost of transmission.
• IGEF Support Office to submit a brief outline about the idea for comparison of costs involved for transporting green electricity via transmission grid over long distances vs. conversion into green hydrogen storage and reconversion into electricity via a fuel cell. 
• Further studies with a focus on storage may be carried out if the additional need has been identified after the World bank study is finalized and with approval by the competent line ministry.
• Change of scope and name of the Subgroup from “Green Energy Corridors” to “Green Energy Grid Integration” in line with concept paper: Expanding the scope of IGEF Subgroup 4 “Green Energy Corridors” to “Green Energy Grid Integration”.