International Solar Alliance, India’s Brainchild Shaping the Global Solar Industry

Romania Joins As The 118th Member Country Of International Solar Alliance

The International Solar Alliance (ISA) aims at increasing solar energy deployment in member countries at an affordable rate, create solar grids and establish solar credit mechanism.

When we talk about tackling climate change, the biggest developments are in the offing. The aim is to adopt clean energy sources and to move towards a fossil-free future for greater benefits in the global world and the developments related to it are happening at the fast pace.

What can be noteworthy in this regard is the founding ceremony of International Solar Alliance. Launched at the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris in late 2015 by the President of France and the Prime Minister of India, the alliance is preparing to host its mega inaugural Summit in Delhi on March 11 in the presence of more than a hundred leaders. Those include will be French President Emmanuel Macron at the March summit.

The summit or mega founding conference comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi termed the alliance as the “single most important global achievement after Paris.’ Close on the heels of the successful event of The Energy  Research Institute’s (TERI) World Sustainable Development Summit, the Prime Minister said that India was committed to its renewable energy targets and had added more than 14 gigawatts (GW) to solar energy generation, from just 3GW in 2014.

The International Solar Alliance (ISA) aims at increasing solar energy deployment in member countries at an affordable rate, create solar grids and establish solar credit mechanism. It became a legal body in December 2017 and is the first treaty-based international intergovernmental organization to be based out of India. The alliance includes 121 member countries located either fully or partially between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. Some countries in the alliance are just at the start of their solar journey, such as Somalia.

One more noteworthy thing about the body is that over 50 projects will be signed under the Alliance’s umbrella by April this year. After the March summit, the next is the Second Global RE-Invest India-ISA Partnership to be held on April 19-20. International Solar Alliance has already signed deals for nine projects, which will be deployed in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, India and Spain, with the help of eight companies — Vyonarc Development Ltd., Waree Engineers, Gensol Group, SOLARIG, Shakti Pump, Refex Energy, Amplus Solar, and Zodiac Energy.

The ISA, India’s brainchild is looking at partnerships and synergies between international agencies and the private sector to help mobilize $1 trillion to set up 1,000 gigawatts of solar power capacity across the world, with the intention of enhancing energy access and reducing the cost of production for solar power.

PM Modi seems to be aggressive on the global front in the renewable energy sector, but his government should also look towards this sector at domestic level while shaping the global solar Industry.