Solar Alliance aims to provide energy access to 700 million people: R K Singh

The International Solar Alliance (ISA) objective is to give electricity access to about 700 million people, who currently do not have electricity access, through renewable energy, Union Power Minister R K Singh said on Tuesday.

Since India has substantial experience in solar power, it will provide consultancy, help them (African countries) in aggregating their electricity demand, design bids for them, roll out of capacities, transmission and distribution among other aspects, he told media at the International Solar Alliance (ISA) fifth general assembly meeting held here.

“The past two years have also provided us with multiple reminders that the global dependence on fossil fuels is unhealthy. We already have the tools we need to counter these, and the development in technology is making sure that even more effective resources are made available in the years to come. It is now up to us to decide how quickly we can deploy these. In this pursuit for energy transition, we also have the responsibility of enabling development in the parts of the world that lack access to energy and energy security,” he said.

Also Read: India to have over 65% power generation capacity from non-fossil fuels by 2030: R K Singh

India and France are re-elected as President and Co-President of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) at the fifth general assembly of the body.

Union Power and New & Renewable Energy Minister R K Singh will be the President of ISA while Chrysoula Zacharopoulou, France's Minister of State for Development, Francophonie and International Partnerships, will be co-president of the International Solar Alliance, ISA Director General Ajay Mathur told reporters on Tuesday.

ISA’s mission is to unlock $1 trillion of investments in solar by 2030 while reducing the cost of the technology and its financing. It promotes the use of solar energy in the Agriculture, Health, Transport and Power Generation sectors.

The International Solar Alliance works with governments to improve energy access and security worldwide and promote solar power as a sustainable way to transition to a carbon-neutral future.

The ISA Assembly approved the Solar Facility, a payment guarantee mechanism which is expected to stimulate investments into solar through two financial components: Solar Payment Guarantee Fund and Solar Insurance Fund. The ISA will soon operationalize Solar Facility to crowdsource investments from various donors across the globe and proposed projects in Africa will be able to purchase payment guarantees or partial insurance premium from these funds.