Recently on 14 October in a virtual assembly, India and France were re-elected as the President and Co-president of International Solar Alliance (ISA). It also reiterated its commitment to the United Nations Agenda-2030 for Sustainable Development, which includes eradication of poverty in all forms and dimensions, development of technology to change the world, a strong and transparent international financing system, joint research and development, etc.
61 countries affiliated to the ISA have joined the alliance, while 32 countries have ratified the Framework Agreement.The ISA Framework aims to enhance international cooperation to access research and technology for clean energy, including renewable energy, energy efficiencies and advanced and clean bio-fuel technologies, by 2030, and to promote investment in energy infrastructure and clean energy technology. The basic objective of ISA is to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.One of the major objectives of ISA is to achieve a global capacity of over 1000 GW of solar power generation. India has launched the largest renewable capacity expansion program in the world. The government aims to increase the share of clean energy with a strong emphasis on renewable energy. It is playing an active role in promoting renewable energy resources through various means like energy security, power reduction, energy access, financial incentives, the main drivers of development and use of new and renewable energy in India.
National Solar Energy Mission aims to promote the development and use of solar energy for power generation and other uses with the ultimate objective of making solar energy competitive with fossil based energy alternatives. It aims to reduce the cost of solar power generation in the country through a long-term policy, large-scale deployment goals, ambitious R&D and domestic production of critical raw materials, components and products.
National Solar Energy Mission has planned Solar Parks, Solar Rooftop Scheme, Solar Defence Scheme, Solar Scheme for CPU Solar PV Power Plant over canal dams and canals, Solar Pumps etc. during the last two years to achieve the renewable energy target of 175 GW by the year 2022. In order to achieve the renewable energy target of 175 GW by the year 2022, several policy measures are being initiated and specific steps are being taken apart from providing financial support to various schemes.
The demand for energy has increased rapidly in India during the last decade due to increasing population, access to modern services, rapid rate of electrification and growth in GDP and it is believed that it is possible to use solar energy instead of conventional energy sources. This cannot be easily accomplished though India’s energy needs are huge and the share of renewable energy such as solar energy is very small. But the government has set a very ambitious target for solar power generation and efforts are also being made towards achieving it.
