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Introduction:

The Fourth Assembly of the International Solar Alliance – ISA was held virtually deliberated on the key initiatives around the operationalisation of One Sun One World One Grid initiative, 1 trillion dollar Solar Investment Roadmap for 2030, and approval of a Blended Financial Risk Mitigation Facility. World leaders of ISA member countries will also discuss the strategic plan of the ISA for the next five years which includes Country Partnership Framework, Strategy for Private Sector Engagement, and initiatives such as Viability Gap Financing scheme to facilitate affordable finance for solar energy projects across ISA’s membership. The concept of a single global grid for solar power was first outlined at the First Assembly of the ISA in 2018 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It envisions building and scaling inter-regional energy grids to share solar energy across the globe, leveraging the differences of time zones, seasons, resources, and prices between countries and regions. OSOWOG will also help decarbonise energy production, which is today the largest source of global greenhouse gas emissions.

ISA Assembly:

The Assembly is the apex decision-making body of International Solar Alliance (ISA), in which each member country is represented.

• This body makes decisions concerning the implementation of the ISA’s Framework Agreement and coordinated actions to be taken to achieve its objective.
• The Assembly meets annually at the Ministerial level at the seat of the ISA, assesses the aggregate effect of the programmes and other activities in terms of deployment of solar energy, performance, reliability, as well as cost and scale of finance.

International Solar Alliance (ISA):                                             

• International Solar Alliance was launched in 2015.
• The International Solar Alliance (ISA) is an alliance of more than 122 countries initiated by India.
• ISA is a coalition of solar resource rich countries lying fully or partially between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn to specifically address energy needs by harnessing solar energy.
• The Paris Declaration establishes ISA as an alliance dedicated to the promotion of solar energy among its member countries.
• ISA brings together countries with rich solar potential to aggregate global demand, thereby reducing prices through bulk purchase.
• It facilitates the deployment of existing solar technologies at scale, and promoting collaborative solar R&D and capacity building.

Secretariat:

• India and France jointly laid the foundation stone of ISA Headquarters.
• They inaugurated the interim Secretariat of the ISA in National Institute of Solar Energy campus, Gurugram, Haryana.

Objectives:

• The ISA’s major objectives include global deployment of over 1,000GW of solar generation capacity and mobilisation of investment of over US$ 1000 billion into solar energy by 2030.
• The ISA envisions to enable the full ecosystem for availability and development of technology, economic resources, and development of storage technology, mass manufacturing and innovation.

Need for:

• The reduced cost of technology would enable the undertaking of more ambitious solar energy programmes.
• Solar is key source of affordable and reliable energy. Successful project implementation could play significant role in achieving the universal energy access goal (SDG 7).
• ISA’s six programmes could be a game changer for the conservation of environment Solar Applications for Agricultural Use, Affordable Finance at Scale, Mini Grids, and Solar Rooftops and Solar E-mobility & Storage and Large-Scale Solar Parks.

Highlights:

• The Fourth Assembly of the ISA will deliberate on the key initiatives around the operationalisation of the OSOWOG initiative, the $1 trillion Solar Investment Roadmap for 2030, and approval of a Blended Financial Risk Mitigation Facility.
• World leaders of ISA member countries will also discuss the strategic plan of the ISA for the next five years.
• The ISA will also discuss the partnership with Global Energy Alliance (GEA) to scale up technical and financial support to LDCs and SIDS.

Potential and benefits of the One Sun One World One Grid initiative:

• India would generate 40% of power from non-fossil fuels by 2030 and has called for connecting solar energy supply across borders giving the mantra of ‘One World One Sun One Grid’.
• The proposed integration would lead to reduced project costs, higher efficiencies and increased asset utilization for all the participating entities.
• This plan will require only incremental investment because it will not require a parallel grid infrastructure due to working with existing grids.
• It will help all the participating entities in attracting investments in renewable energy sources as well as utilizing skills, technology and finances.
• Resulting economic benefits would positively impact poverty alleviation and support in mitigating water, sanitation, food and other socio-economic challenges.
• It will allow national renewable energy management centers in India to grow as regional and global management centers.
• At a global level, almost 2,600 GW of interconnection capacity may be possible up to 2050, delivering estimated power savings of 226 billion euros per year.