On October 14-16, the third Assembly of the International Solar Alliance was held in a virtual mode where India and France were re-elected as the President and Co-President of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) for a term of two years at the virtual third Assembly of ISA.
- During the assembly, a report prepared by the World Resources Institute (WRI) was presented which identified the sources of funds, opportunities and constraints, in scaling up solar investments and the contribution of ISA in assisting Member countries.
- Notably, ISA is working with WRI to develop a roadmap for mobilization of USD 1 Trillion by 2030 and for implementing the vision of One Sun, One World, One Grid. The financial assistance for the same is being provided by Netherlands, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Bloomberg New Energy Finance andClimate Works Foundation.
–ISA Secretariat launches Seventh Programme on Solarizing Heating and Cooling systems
On the lines of the global demand for cooling and heating utilities, the Seventh Programme on Solarizing Heating and Cooling systems was launched by the ISA Secretariat i.e. Gurugram (Haryana).
Other Initiatives:
- Demand aggregation initiative for 47 Million Solar Home Systems and 250 Million LED (Light Emitting Diode) Lamps in ISA Member Countries launched in August 2020.
- India-Brazil-South Africa Dialogue Forum (IBSA) Facility Technical Assistance of USD 2 Million for deployment of Solar Water Pumping Systems demonstration projects in ISA Member countries, in partnership with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), under the Solar Pump Programme of the ISA.
Kalpana Chawla awards ,Visvesvaraya award, and Diwakar awards presented during the assembly
For the first time ISA Solar Awards were presented which are as follows:
Kalpana Chawla Awards:
The Haryana Chief Minister (CM), Manohar Lal Khattar conferred the Kalpana Chawla awards named after the American astronaut of Indian origin, to Dr. Bhim Singh from IIT (Indian Institute of Technology) Delhi and Dr. Aaesha Alnuaimi from Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, United Arab Emirates (UAE).
- Named after the American astronaut of Indian origin, Kalpana Chawla awards recognise outstanding contribution of scientists and engineers working in the field of solar energy.
Visvesvaraya Award:
This award was conferred by Mahendra Jain, Additional Chief Secretary to the Government of Karnataka. For Asia Pacific Region it was awarded to Japan while for Europe and other regions it was awarded to The Netherlands.
- Named after Bharat Ratna Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya, the award carries an amount of 12,330 USD as prize money, a scroll and a certificate to recognize the countries with a maximum floating solar capacity in each of the four regions of ISA.
Diwakar Award:
It was awarded to Arpan Institute (Haryana) and Arushi Society (Madhya Pradesh).
- This award was instituted by ISA out of the contribution made by India’s Minister for Railways and Commerce & Industry, Piyush Goyal of 25,000 USD received by him from the University of Pennsylvania.
- It recognizes organisations & institutions that have been working for the benefit of differently-abled people and have maximised the use of solar energy in the host country.
Important take aways in the 3rd Assembly:
i.Four new Vice-Presidents were also chosen to represent the four regions of ISA. The representatives of Fiji & Nauru for Asia Pacific Region; Mauritius & Niger for Africa Region; UK & Netherlands for Europe and others Region, and Cuba and Guyana for Latin America and Caribbean Region assumed the vice presidency.
ii.Initiatives of the ISA Secretariat in institutionalizing ISA’s engagement with the private and public corporate sector through the Coalition for Sustainable Climate Action (CSCA). Ten public sector organisations in India presented a cheque for 1 million USD each at the assembly.
iii.France has also supported the collaboration with the World Bank to mobilise financing: a facility “Sustainable Renewables Risk Mitigation Initiative” (SRMI) should help mobilize 18 billion € in private investment to finance more than 10 gigawatts of solar projects, and a first project is being launched in Mozambique with the support of France and the European Union.
Recent Related News:
i.On September 8, 2020, the first World Solar Technology Summit (WSTS) was held virtually which was organized by the International Solar Alliance (ISA) along with Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), as the convenor of ISA Global Leadership Task Force on Innovation, to focus on new Technologies and Innovations in the field of Solar.
ii.On 23rd July 2020, The Republic of Nicaragua became the 87th country to sign the ISA Framework Agreement. E. Jaime Hermida Castillo, Permanent Representative to the UN of the Republic of Nicaragua, signed the Agreement at the Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations, New York.
About International Solar Alliance (ISA):
In November 2015, ISA was jointly launched by India and France during the 21st session of the United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP-21) in Paris, France to promote solar energy among its Member Countries. The major objective of the organization is the deployment of 1000 GW of solar capacity and mobilization of US$ 1000 billion of investment in the solar energy sector by 2030.
Director General– Upendra Tripathy
Headquarter– Gurugram, Haryana
