New Delhi: The first World Solar Technology Summit, which is being organised by the International Solar Alliance (ISA) on a virtual platform on September 8, will bring the spotlight on state-of-the-art technologies as well as next-generation technologies which will provide impetus to the efforts towards harnessing the solar energy more efficiently, said RK Singh on Monday. At the summit, the ISA would also be launching the ISA Journal on Solar Energy (I JOSE) that would help authors from across the globe to publish their articles on solar energy, during the event. The articles in this journal would be reviewed by global experts and will reach the Member countries through ISA's vast network of NFPs (National Focal points) and STAR (Solar Technology and Application Resource centers) centres.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will deliver the inaugural address of the First World Solar Technology Summit which will be attended by ministers from member countries from across all ISA regions. High level dignitaries from the world of Scientific Research and Development and a CEO's conclave will set the tone of the deliberations on low cost, innovative and affordable solar technologies. Senior government functionaries, heads of global corporations, financial and multilateral institutions, civil society, foundations and think-tanks will be present during the inaugural session.
Nobel Laureate Dr M Stanley Whittingham will be presenting the keynote address during the inaugural ceremony. Dr Whittingham was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry (jointly with John B Goodenough & Akira Yoshino) in 2019 for the revolutionising the discovery of lithium ion batteries. A power-packed session is to follow with CEOs of top global corporations who have made pathbreaking progress in implementing and scaling up solar technologies. CEOs expected to take part in the Global CEOs session are: Bertrand Piccard FRSGS, Founder and Chairman, Solar Impulse Foundation, Switzerland, Jean-Pascal Tricoire, Chairman & CEO, Schneider Electric, Eric Rondolat, Chief Executive Officer, Signify.
The event will hold four technical sessions that would be available to the participants in different languages namely English, Spanish, French and Arabic. Leading companies and research organisations from across the world will present their work during these sessions and will deliberate on latest trends in solar technologies.
Session -1: Vision 2030 & Beyond: The overall context of PV technology development and its future, on its way towards becoming the first source of energy worldwide, with PV technologies supplying 70% of the world's electricity generation.
Session -2: Towards a Decarbonised Grid: The most recent advances (conversion efficiency improvements and declining costs) regarding key components such as PV modules and storage technologies.
Session -3: Disruptive Solar Technologies: On-grid applications, whether ground-mounted, floating, or integrated in residential and commercial rooftops.
Session -4: Solar Beyond the Power Sector: Innovative applications where PV is used to move, heat, cool, and drive eco-friendly industrial processes and produce fuels as well as off-grid applications, to provide universal access to energy.
Delivering the keynote address at the curtain raiser, Union Minister for Power and New & Renewable Energy RK Singh congratulated the ISA for conceptualising the first-ever World Solar Technology Summit. The event will help serve the objective and drive the necessary growth of solar energy around the world through innovations. "At this crucial junction, when the world is striving to fight the corona pandemic, our collective efforts will help face this challenge and also towards achieving the objective of universal electricity access to all," said Singh.
In his address, ISA DG Upendra Tripathy said that the role of technology has drastically changed over the past few years and will continue to change as people look towards technology for solutions more than ever before. Further, mutual co-operation among the member countries has been the pillar of the solar PV revolution. "ISA must fulfill the dream of lighting every home no matter how far away by bringing the innovative and affordable technologies to forefront. World Solar Technology Summit is a stepping stone in that direction," he said.
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