Key Highlights:

• Dr. Afif Saif Al Yafei, TAQA’s Group CEO and UNEZA Co-Chair: emphasized the urgent need for increased grid investment, highlighting that $21 trillion is required by 2050, yet financing remains limited due to challenges in proving grids as “green”. He called for MDBs to play a greater role in addressing this gap and stressed the importance of clear financing criteria. “The Climate Finance Principles for Green Grids aim to foster trust among stakeholders and facilitate the scaling of investments required to modernize, expand, and refurbish the infrastructure, particularly in emerging markets,” he stated, reaffirming UNEZA’s commitment through the Grids and Storage Pledge at COP29 to drive necessary climate finance reforms.
• Glenn Barber, Director of Corporate Affairs of SSE and UNEZA Co-Chair: highlighted the critical need for long-term strategic investment in grid infrastructure, citing Scotland’s potential to supply 20% of the UK's clean power by 2030 as an example of what is possible with the right regulatory and financial support. He stressed that a fundamental mindset shift is required. “There is no transition without transmission,” he stated, emphasizing the importance of global collaboration and initiatives like the Green Grids Initiative to drive essential funding solutions.
• Gurbuz Gonul, Director, Country Engagement and Partnerships, IRENA: underscored the urgent need for increased grid investments to support the global renewable energy transition, noting that current annual investments of $391 billion fall significantly short of the required $717 billion. He highlighted that grid underinvestment leads to project delays, higher costs, and inefficiencies, particularly in Latin America, Africa, and Asia-Pacific, where insufficient infrastructure limits renewable energy expansion.
• Marcus Stewart, Lead, Green Grids Initiative, Department of Energy Security and Net Zero, UK: emphasized the critical role of grid infrastructure in the global energy transition, pointing out the need for accelerated investment to meet climate goals. He highlighted the challenge that over 60% of current grid investments are excluded from climate finance due to varying definitions of "green" grids, particularly in coal-intensive and developing regions.

Key Themes of the Roundtable Discussion:

• Urgency of Grid Investment and Financial Barriers: achieving global climate goals and transitioning to renewable energy requires a significant scale-up in grid investments. However, financial challenges continue to hinder progress, particularly due to the absence of a clear and unified definition of “Green Grids.” This uncertainty makes it difficult to secure climate financing and attract private sector investment. Currently, grid infrastructure development depends heavily on public funding, and without stronger engagement from private investors and the implementation of innovative financial mechanisms, efforts to expand and modernize grids may face delays.
• Policy & Regulatory Support: unclear regulations, slow permitting processes, and fragmented policy frameworks hinder the development of modern and flexible grids. Experts emphasized that governments and regulators play a critical role in aligning national energy transition plans with investment strategies. Countries need long-term grid development roadmaps, clear tariff structures, and policies that support public-private partnerships to reduce investment risks and attract large-scale financing. Special attention is needed for island nations like the Maldives, where grid interconnectivity challenges create additional barriers to securing investment.
• Innovation & Digitalization: the integration of artificial intelligence (AI), smart grids, and energy storage solutions is essential for improving grid flexibility and efficiency. Digitalization can enhance real-time demand response, optimize energy distribution, and reduce reliance on fossil fuel-based backup power. Innovative grid technologies, such as long-duration energy storage (LDES), undersea interconnectors, and AI-driven predictive maintenance, are key enablers for a resilient and future-ready energy system. Experts stressed that accelerating the adoption of these technologies is crucial to unlocking the full potential of renewable energy.

The session highlighted the pressing need to accelerate grid investments to support the global energy transition. A key takeaway underscored the role of MDBs, private investors, and policymakers in creating an enabling environment for sustainable grid development. As a next step, UNEZA and the GGI will issue a joint Open Letter to MDBs and call to adopt the Climate Finance Principles for Green Grids which will form the basis for a harmonized definition for what constitutes a “green grid”.

The members of UNEZA have individual plans that combined altogether aim to invest more than 117 bn USD per year, including more than 60 bn USD in renewables and over 57 bn USD in grids as a collective grid infrastructure capex plan that will serve as a basis to equipment manufacturers to scale up production in support of grid development.

UNEZA High Level Statement called for actions on building a resilient and diverse clean energy technology supply chain and announce collective, medium term demand signal to encourage capacity expansion.

In confronting challenges to build a resilient energy future, UNEZA has identified the future energy system needs for 2030-2050:

• – Grid Constraints: Without sufficient grid infrastructure, renewables remain constrained.
• – Supply Chain Gaps: Global manufacturing capacity for energy transition equipment lags the unprecedented demand, creating vulnerabilities in the clean energy supply chain.
• – Balancing the System: Integrating and balancing renewable power requires significant progress on grid infrastructure, long-duration storage, and clean dispatchable options like CCS or hydrogen.
• – Financing Challenges: While the recent focus has been on deploying renewables, matching investment in the infrastructure needed to support and integrate them has lagged.

UNEZA has endorsed the COP29 Global Energy Storage and Grids Pledge and the COP29 Green Energy Pledge: Green Energy Zones and Corridors.

The Alliance emphasized the opportunity to pursue the clean energy transition in a more strategically planned way, prioritizing investments that help balance the system. Members expressed optimism about the readiness of technology, supply chains supply chain’s ability to respond to our demand signals, and policymaker commitments.

Looking ahead to COP30 in Brazil, UNEZA reaffirmed its dedication to transforming power systems and ensuring that pledges lead to real-world delivery, accelerating progress toward a net-zero future.

The first session, “Accelerating Large Grid Infrastructure Projects – Highlights for Policymakers”, organized by the Utilities for Net Zero Alliance (UNEZA) on September 23, 2024, focused on the critical challenges of scaling large grid projects to support increased renewable capacity. Held at Accenture headquarters during NYC Climate Week, the event convened leaders from utilities, government, and finance sectors to explore strategic investments and policy measures.

Key Highlights:

• H.E. Razan Al Mubarak, UN Climate Change High-Level Champion, emphasized the need for ambitious investments in grid capacity and resilience, advocating for a just and nature-positive transition. She highlighted the importance of de-risking investments and regulatory reform to unlock finance for grid development, especially in emerging markets.
• Mr. Francesco La Camera, Director-General of IRENA, stressed the importance of addressing barriers such as outdated regulatory frameworks and skills gaps. He called for immediate action to prepare a workforce that aligns with the new energy system.
• Dr. Afif Saif Al Yafei, CEO of TAQA Transmission and UNEZA Co-chair, underscored the necessity of partnerships among policymakers, communities, and utilities to drive large-scale grid projects, advocating for innovative planning and community engagement.
• Mr. Glenn Barber, Director of Corporate Affairs at SSE and UNEZA Co-chair, shared insights from Scotland, highlighting the need for anticipatory investments and centralized planning to effectively transition communities to new energy solutions.

The second event, a roundtable on “Strengthening Resilient and Diverse Supply Chains for Renewable Energy”, held on 24 September 2024, highlighted the urgency of establishing robust, resilient, and cost-effective supply chains to meet COP28 commitments to triple renewable capacity by 2030. As the energy transition accelerates, stakeholders recognised the critical need for resilient local and regional supply chains, strengthened R&D policies, sustainable sourcing of critical minerals, expanded manufacturing capabilities, and workforce development. Hosted by the Global Renewables Alliance (GRA) and partners including Bloomberg Philanthropies and the WTO Secretariat, discussions emphasised the need for international collaboration to scale supply chains, reduce costs, and ensure equitable distribution of benefits.

Key Highlights:

• Participants acknowledged pressing challenges in supply chains, emphasizing the need to confront existing bottlenecks to achieve renewable energy goals.
• The role of innovation and sustainable practices in creating adaptable supply chains was highlighted.
• Workforce development emerged as a focal point, with discussions on aligning job creation with the energy transition to build a skilled workforce.
• The necessity of international cooperation in trade policies to support developing economies was also emphasized.
• Alongside investment commitments, members published a high-level statement with recommendations to policymakers to build a resilient and diverse clean energy technology supply chain. You can access this statement in our UNEZA website.

Both sessions concluded with a strong commitment to accelerate investments in grid infrastructure and strengthen supply chains, fostering global cooperation. Participants agreed on the necessity of creating clear market demand signals and aligning policies to support the renewable energy transition. The path forward will prioritize innovation, workforce development, and inclusive approaches to ensure equitable benefits across all regions, ultimately driving progress toward a net-zero future.

On June 14, 2024, the Utilities for Net Zero Alliance (UNEZA) participated in the session “Industry-Driven Partnerships for Accelerated Energy Transition” within IRENA 27^th Council meeting.

The session facilitated exchange among the IRENA Members and private sector on how the net zero and decarbonization goals set at the national level could be practically supported by the power sector for an accelerated energy transition.

The IRENA Director-General introduced the topic, underlining that under IRENA 1.5° electricity consumption in end use sectors will triple by 2050 to over 87,000 TWh compared with 2020. Director General stressed out that to meet the rising demand, the power sector will undergo a significant decarbonization, which would involve an increase in renewable energy share to 91% by 2050.

Mr. Noel Aoun, Chief Strategy Officer at TAQA, representing Co-Chair of UNEZA, addressed the IRENA Council to discuss the achievements and ambitions of UNEZA. He highlighted the alliance’s growth to 34 partners since its launch at COP28, underlining its significance as a valuable utilities’ initiative. Mr. Aoun detailed UNEZA’s strong commitment to tripling renewable energy capacity by 2030 and enhancing power sector infrastructure. Mr. Aoun emphasized the complexity of the energy transition, pointing out the need for a coordinated approach among utilities, regulators, and policymakers and highlighted UNEZA’s primary goal to broaden the knowledge base around current sector-specific barriers to the transition.

Under one of the UNEZA workstreams, Mr. Aoun mentioned the development of an aggregated ‘demand signal’ through a joint statement of grid investment intent. By offering visibility on the potential scale of demand over the next decade, UNEZA members aim to encourage suppliers to expand capacity and meet this growing demand. This ‘signal’ along with a series of high-level recommendations to further ease supply constraints will be published later this year. Finally, Mr. Aoun called pointed out the urgent need to rebuild the global power system and urged utilities to join UNEZA in its mission to drive a net-zero future.

The United Arab Emirates welcomed the involvement of their private sector in this multi- stakeholder initiatives, highlighting its crucial role in achieving net-zero and clean energy goals. It emphasized the need for clear processes and highlighted that partnerships are essentials to learn from each other facilitating an open exchange on the challenges each sector faces.

Spain shared their views regarding electrification and highlighted the critical aspect to reinforce transportation and distribution networks and how the country is updating their development plan for electricity through 2023. Canada e highlighted the need of accelerating the deployment of clean electricity infrastructure to facilitate the nation’s transition to net-zero emissions. Canada highlighted recommendations from Canada’s Clean Electricity Advisory Council, which advocates for a risk-based approach to project reviews and permitting to streamline processes and reduce delays. This approach aims to foster faster, more inclusive project implementation while ensuring environmental protection.

The United States of America (USA) expressed strong support for UNEZA and its model of incorporating the private sector into discussions to complement other global clean energy initiatives. The USA highlighted the Clean Energy Demand Initiative (CEDI), which collaborates with countries and corporations across various sectors to deploy clean energy and stimulate broader economic growth. The CEDI initiative aims to build a stable platform for companies committed to using 100% renewable energy by 2050 or earlier, which presents challenges in power systems historically designed for fossil fuels. Additionally, the U.S. discussed the significant energy demands anticipated from data centers due to the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

The European Union (EU) highlighted the significance of public-private cooperation in the energy sector, emphasizing its role in providing long-term visibility necessary for spurring investments in grids and renewable energy generation. The EU stressed the importance of international cooperation and multi-stakeholder platforms to facilitate the decarbonization of electricity production and the build-out of energy infrastructure. The EU is committed to enhancing dialogue with stakeholders through initiatives like the Grids action plan, addressing regulatory barriers through the Net Zero Industry Act, and implementing strategies to increase renewable energy deployment and grid development. These efforts are part of a broader strategy to secure investment and streamline processes to support the transition to a low- carbon economy.

Singapore emphasized the crucial role of industry partnerships in global efforts to decarbonize energy systems, highlighting the significant investments required for modernizing power grids and deploying submarine cables in Southeast Asia. These efforts are essential for enhancing the region’s renewable energy uptake by the end of this decade. Singapore has introduced the Financing Asia’s Transition Partnership (FAST-P), collaborating with multilateral development banks and philanthropic organizations to mobilize capital for bankable projects in the region. Singapore appreciates IRENA’s efforts to catalyze public-private partnerships and projects on clean energy investments and green transition projects for Southeast Asia, looking forward to strengthening these partnerships to triple the region’s renewable energy capacity by 2030.

The United Kingdom (UK) congratulated IRENA and its partners for launching vital international cooperation platforms essential for accelerating the global clean energy transition. The UK highlighted the significance of collaborating with power utilities and the private sector to deploy renewable energy technologies and networks rapidly to meet the global goal of tripling renewable energy capacity. The UK emphasized the role of UNEZA in bringing together global utilities and power companies to address common challenges and assist countries seeking support. The UK also pointed out the collaboration between the Green Grids Initiative (GGI) and UNEZA to share expertise, engage with development banks and financial institutions to de-risk grid projects, and attract necessary private investments. It was shared that a joint supply chains working group has also been established under UNEZA to tackle global challenges related to capacity building and infrastructure development needed for the energy transition.