International Solar Alliance
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- Context (ET): Malta becomes 119th member of International Solar Alliance (ISA).
- ISA is a treaty-based international organization of solar resource rich countries (Suryaputras), lying fully or partially between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn.
- The ISA is the brainchild of India and France “to mobilise efforts against climate change through the deployment of solar energy solutions”.
- It was launched at the 21st Conference of Parties (COP21) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) held in Paris, in 2015.
- Vision: Let us together make the sun brighter.
- Mission: Every home no matter how far away, will have a light at home.
- The ISA is guided by its ‘Towards 1000’ strategy, which aims:
- To mobilize USD 1000 billion of investments in solar energy solutions by 2030.
- To deliver energy access to 1000 million people using clean energy solutions.
- To install 1000 GW of solar energy capacity.
- To mitigate global solar emissions to the tune of 1000 million tonnes of CO2 every year.
- Membership: More than 120 signatories. All UN member states are now eligible to join the ISA.
- Countries that do not fall within the Tropics can join the alliance with the exception of voting rights.
- Headquarters: National Institute for Solar Energy of India, Gurugram.
- The United Nations General Assembly granted observer status to the ISA in 2021.
Governance Structure
Assembly
- The ISA Assembly is the apex decision-making body of ISA, in which each Member Country is represented.
- It makes decisions concerning the implementation of the ISA’s Framework Agreement and coordinated actions to be taken to achieve its objectives.
- The Assembly meets annually at the ministerial level at the ISA’s seat.
- It assesses the aggregate effect of the programmes and other activities in terms of deployment of solar energy, performance, reliability, cost and scale of finance.
Steering committee
- It is responsible for providing strategic guidance to the ISA and overseeing its operations.
- The Steering Committee meets to review progress and make recommendations to the Assembly.
Projects of ISA
One Sun One World One Grid (OSOWOG)
- The idea of OSOWOG was first floated by India in 2018 during the first assembly of the International Solar Alliance (ISA).
- It is a part of ISA and is a trans-national electricity grid supplying solar power across the globe.
- Objective: Facilitating global cooperation on building a global ecosystem of interconnected renewable energy resources and building a common grid to transfer solar power.
- Vision: The Sun Never Sets
- It will help in three energy transitions:
- Switch of energy production from fossil fuel to clean energy.
- Switch of energy allocation from local balance to cross-border and global distribution.
- Switch of energy consumption from coal, oil and gas to electric-centric consumption.
- The initiative would be carried out in three phases:
- Phase 1: Interconnect the grids of the Middle East, South Asia, and Southeast Asia.
- Phase 2: Connect the Asian grid with the African grid.
- Phase 3: Create a global grid.
Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) Scheme
- Through the scheme, India has been supporting the ISA by providing training to master trainers in the field of solar energy.
- The duration of the training is 21 days and all costs are borne by the GoI.
Solar Technology Application Resource Centre (STAR C) Initiative
- It is capacity-building & institutional strengthening initiative in developing Member Countries.
- It aims to cultivate the desired human capacity and skills among a Member Country’s populace to encourage energy transition activities, creating jobs & contributing to country’s economic growth.
- STAR Centres act as hubs of technology, knowledge, and expertise on solar energy and are a go-to place for a Member Country at the regional or country levels.
- They act as an interface between countries sharing solar energy development experiences, undertaking joint research, promoting development & demonstration, capacity building, and creating regional & global networks.
ISA Solar Fellowship for Mid-career Professionals
- Objective: To contribute towards the long-term development needs of member countries, through the creation of a skilled and qualified professional manpower for management of solar energy projects, programmes and policies.
- Under this scheme, fellowships in the field of solar energy management will be offered to mid-career professionals from ISA countries for pursuing a master’s degree in renewable energy management and economics.