New Delhi: The Sixth Assembly of the International Solar Alliance (ISA), which is scheduled to be held in Delhi from October 30-November 2, will take up the issues of mobilising finance for developing and emerging countries for energy transition and small-scale solar deployments, and the diversification of supply chains for solar power equipment manufacturing. India holds the presidency of the alliance and hence, the Assembly will be presided over by Union Minister for Power and New and Renewable Energy RK Singh.
Stressing on the need for mobilising finance for developing economies in order to aid their energy transition, Singh told the media during a press interaction on Wednesday, “Since the time the ISA was formed, we have been waiting to see green funds reach emerging and developing economies. But it has not happened yet. The conscience of the world needs to be stirred.” Dr Ajay Mathur, the Director-General of ISA, said that one of the biggest challenges facing the global solar sector is that most of the investment coming into the sector is going to the OECD countries and China.
According to an official statement, the sixth Assembly of the ISA will focus on four key areas — universalisation of energy access through solar mini-grids, mobilising finance for accelerated solar deployment and diversifying supply chains and manufacturing for solar. The assembly will discuss initiatives that impact energy access, energy security and energy transitions.
Ministers, missions and delegates from 116 Member and Signatory Countries of the ISA will participate, along with delegates from prospective countries, partner organisations, private sector and other stakeholders. The ISA was launched jointly by India and France after COP21 in Paris.
In his capacity as the President of the ISA, Singh interacted with embassy officials of the countries participating in the forthcoming 6th Assembly meeting. Singh said that the International Solar Alliance has a seminal role to play in energy transition given its focus on solar energy. “Our experience shows that among renewable sources, solar has the edge; it is much more dependable, reliable and available for more months of the year,” the minister added.
The minister said that solar energy is also capable of being deployed in small sizes which makes it the best suited for ensuring energy access. “When we launched our campaign for universal access to energy, solar played a major role. It is using solar that we lighted many homes in the hills and in the deserts. It has ability to be deployed for specific villages in mini-grids. For universal access, solar is the solution, especially for the global south. That is what makes ISA important,” the minister said.