Summits and Organisations Prelims Plus
Why is in news? International Solar Alliance and West African Power Pool hosts 13 African countries in New Delhi to share best practices in solar deployment
International Solar Alliance (ISA), in collaboration with Grid Controller of India Ltd (Grid-India) and West African Power Pool (WAPP), is hosting delegates from the West African Region in New Delhi, India, from 14th to 18th February.
Sixty participants from thirteen WAPP countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo will participate in a knowledge sharing and study tour highlighting aspects of solar energy implementation.
India’s journey in energy has been comprehensive, satisfying and thrown up experiences that are very useful for the growth of energy ecosystems in the world.
The global challenge is to enable energy access for 800 million people and thereby give them a better standard of living. Energy access, therefore, is of primary importance.
International Solar Alliance:
The International Solar Alliance is an international organisation with 114 Member and Signatory countries.
The initiative was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the India Africa Summit, and a meeting of member countries ahead of the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris in November 2015.
It works with governments to improve energy access and security worldwide and promote solar power as a sustainable transition to a carbon-neutral future.
ISA’s mission is to unlock US$ 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.
ISA member countries are driving change by enacting policies and regulations, sharing best practices, agreeing on common standards, and mobilising investments.
Through this work, ISA has identified and designed and tested new business models for solar projects; supported governments to make their energy legislation and policies solar-friendly through Ease of Doing Solar analytics and advisory; pooled demand for solar technology from different countries; and drove down costs; improved access to finance by reducing the risks and making the sector more attractive to private investment; increased access to solar training, data and insights for solar engineers and energy policymakers.
With the signing and ratification of the ISA Framework Agreement by 15 countries on 6 December 2017, ISA became the first international intergovernmental organisation to be headquartered in India.
Headquarters: Gurugram, Haryana
ISA is partnering with multilateral development banks (MDBs), development financial institutions (DFIs), private and public sector organisations, civil society, and other international institutions to deploy cost-effective and transformational solutions through solar energy, especially in the least Developed Countries (LDCs) and the Small Island Developing States (SIDS).