- The International Solar Alliance (ISA) hosted ‘International Solar Alliance Forum’ during 17-18th January, 2018 at the World Future Energy Summit (WFES) 2018 held in Abu Dhabi (UAE). It was the first ever outreach programme of the ISA in Abu Dhabi’s World Future Energy Summit (WFES).
- Shri R K Singh, Minister of Power and New and Renewable Energy, who represented India at the forum, announced a creation of $350-million solar development fund by the central government under the International Solar Alliance
- The letter of intent/memoranda of understanding (MoUs) of nine solar-related projects of various companies and bankers had been signed at the WFES. The firms are: Vyonarc Development, Greenko Solar, Gensol Group and SOLARIG from Spain, Shakti Pump, Refex Energy, Amplus Solar, TATA Power, Jackson Solar, and Zodiac Energy.
- WFES is a signature event of a global initiative, Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, hosted by Masdar.
What is an ISA?
- The Paris Declaration on November 30, 2015, establishes ISA as an alliance dedicated to the promotion of solar energy among its member countries.
- The ISA’s major objectives include global deployment of over 1,000 GW of solar generation capacity and mobilisation of investment of over US$ 1000 billion into solar energy by 2030.
- The ISA brings together countries with rich solar potential to aggregate global demand, thereby reducing prices through bulk purchase, facilitating the deployment of existing solar technologies at scale, and promoting collaborative solar R&D and capacity building. Currently, there are 121 countries, with a large participation from Africa, Southeast Asia, and Europe, which have in principle agreed to be members of the ISA.
- When the ISA Framework Agreement entered into force on December 6th, 2017, ISA formally became a de-jure treaty based International Intergovernmental Organization, headquartered at Gurugram, India.
- As of now the ISA Framework Agreement has been signed by 48 countries, with 19 of them also depositing the instruments of ratification with the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India.
World Energy Future Summit: It is an annual event hosted by Abu Dhabi’s renewable energy company Masdar since 2011. It is held under the patronage of Saudi Arabia Sheikh and Crown prince.
