Dear Shri Masato Kanda : Congratulations on the USD
50 Billion Pan-Asian Power Grid !
( And a gentle reminder that I proposed this in 2017 — before PM Modi did
in 2018 ! )
Dear Shri Masato
Kanda,
President, Asian
Development Bank
On 4 May 2026, at the inaugural session of ADB's 59th Annual
Meeting, you said :
" In this fragmented world,
traditional and isolated development responses will fail. To survive and thrive
in this new era, we must build deeply connected and resilient systems. "
And you followed
those words with a historic action :
ADB launched a USD
70 billion programme to build regional systems for shared security and
resilience in Asia and the Pacific — including a USD 50 billion
initiative to build a Pan-Asian
Power Grid that integrates
renewable energy across borders,
enhances energy security, and lowers emissions.
[ Source : Daily
Pioneer — Asia and Pacific region must build shared resilience : ADB
President — 5 May 2026 ]
My warmest
congratulations to you and to the ADB.
And I say this not
merely as an admirer — but as someone who proposed exactly this idea, nearly a decade ago.
My blogs on " One World One Grid " — from
2017 :
Between 2016 and 2017, I wrote several blog posts proposing a cross-border,
pan-Asian, and ultimately global, interconnected power grid — fuelled by
renewable energy, eliminating the concept of " night " for solar power generation,
and treating electricity as a shared planetary resource
rather than a national one.
You can read all of
them here :
>> All my blogs on : One World One Grid
The central argument I made — which you have now articulated with the full
authority of the ADB — was this :
" The Sun never sets on the whole world simultaneously. While it is night
in India, it is day in Europe. While it is monsoon in Southeast Asia, it is
sunshine in the Middle East. A connected grid turns this geographic
diversity into an energy advantage — making round-the-clock, 100%
renewable electricity not just possible, but inevitable. "
I called this concept
: " Unlimited
Power — Round the Clock — From the Sun "
PM Modi formally proposed the same idea as OSOWOG ( One Sun, One World,
One Grid ) in
October 2018 — a full year after my blogs.
ADB is now funding
it. USD 50 billion. Starting 2026.
This is, without
doubt, the most exciting infrastructure initiative of our era.
Why this matters so profoundly :
Shri Kanda,
you identified three forces tearing the world apart — geopolitical fragmentation,
devastating conflict, and escalating environmental stress. The Pan-Asian Power
Grid is the
single infrastructure project that addresses all three simultaneously :
⚡ Against fragmentation :
When 48 countries share a power grid, no one can afford to go to war with their
neighbour — because they share the same electrons. Energy interdependence is
the most durable form of peace.
⚡ Against fossil fuel conflict :
70% of Asia's geopolitical tensions trace back to control of oil and gas routes. A
continent running on shared solar and
wind power has no oil to fight over.
⚡ Against climate stress :
The grid makes renewables economically unbeatable. No country needs to choose
between development and de-carbonization
— the connected grid provides both.
A suggestion — with respect :
Your USD 50 billion initiative begins, as I understand it, with integrating the
existing ASEAN grids — a logical first step. May I suggest that the architecture be
designed from Day 1 to accommodate the full OSOWOG vision :
Phase
1 : ASEAN + South Asia + Middle East ( already underway )
Phase 2 : Connect Central Asia, East Asia ( Japan, Korea, China ) and the
Pacific islands
Phase
3 : Link with the African power pools and the European grid
Phase
4 : One World. One Grid. One Sun.
The technology — HVDC ( High Voltage Direct Current ) transmission lines —
already exists. The undersea cable technology — already proven by the Australia-
Asia Power Link proposals — already exists. What has been missing is
the institutional will and the financing.
You have now provided
both.
In closing :
Shri Kanda,
you said at the ADB Annual Meeting : " The decisions we make at this new
crossroads will secure the future for the next generation. "
I am 92 years old. The next generation you speak of — my grandchildren, their
children — will inherit either a fragmented, fossil-fuelled, conflict-ridden Asia, or a
connected, solar-powered, cooperative one.
The Pan-Asian Power Grid is the single most powerful lever available to determine
which future they
inherit.
Thank you for pulling
it.
With warmest regards
and deep admiration,
Hemen Parekh
Founder — 3P Consultants | Former GM — Larsen & Toubro
Mumbai, India | 08 May 2026
hcp@RecruitGuru.com | www.hemenparekh.ai
PS : For all my related blogs on One World One Grid, spanning 2016–2023, please visit :
https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/search?q=One+World+One+Grid
PPS : To chat with my Digital Avatar — even when I am no longer here physically
— visit www.hemenparekh.ai
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