New Delhi: The International Solar Alliance (ISA) will elect a new President and a co-President, along with a new Director-General, at its 7th Assembly which is set to take place between November 3-6 at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, said current Director-General Dr Ajay Mathur at a curtain raiser press conference on Tuesday. Currently, India and France hold the positions of President and co-President, respectively, at ISA.
Apart from electing new chairpersons, the ISA will release its flagship reports to track annual progress on technology, investments and markets and convene a meeting of the Green Hydrogen Innovation Centre which was launched last year. The alliance will also launch a Global Solar Data portal, which will provide kinds of indicators on various countries which are ISA’s member states.
“The Assembly will also consider the work plan and budgets for the coming year and will, inter alia, consider gender equality policy and the monitoring, evaluation and learning policy of the ISA. On November 5, in a high-level conference, we will discuss new technologies for clean energy transition. We will see how we can look at new technologies for solar cells, batteries and discuss the challenges and achievements for the four different groups of countries that we see across the world. We will also release our three flagship reports which track annual progress on technology, investments and markets,” said Dr Mathur, whose tenure as ISA DG is set to end in March 2025.
The Assembly will be presided over by Pralhad Joshi, Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy. “The Seventh Session of the ISA Assembly is set to be a truly global event. Ministers, missions, and delegates from 120 Member and Signatory Countries, along with partner organisations and stakeholders, will come together to focus on initiatives to improve energy access, security, and transition,” said an official statement.
Addressing the curtain raiser event, the Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy said, “ISA has evolved into a key platform for global solar cooperation, now encompassing 120 Member and Signatory Countries. This growing commitment demonstrates solar energy's significant role in addressing our shared energy access challenges and the adverse effects of climate change. The progress made by ISA’s Member Countries in adopting solar energy is remarkable. Solar energy, available year-round and in abundance in some of our Member Countries, holds the potential to be the game-changer in the theatre of global climate action. Its attributes of being clean, reliable, free and easily accessible to all make it central to achieving universal energy access. Our efforts through the ISA focus on expanding solar infrastructure, creating green jobs, supporting livelihoods, and mitigating climate impacts.”
In his opening remarks, Ajay Yadav, Joint Secretary, MNRE, said, “Global solar deployment presents its challenges: investments, infrastructure, and indigenisation. Countering these challenges demands targeted efforts to support the sector’s expansion.” Further highlighting ISA’s role and substantial contributions, he said, “To address these challenges through various programmes, initiatives, and collaborations with governments, private enterprises, and international organisations and by working with its Member Countries, ISA creates opportunities to diversify global supply chains and boost solar energy demand, contributing to manufacturing capacity growth.” Elaborating on the focused efforts, he added, “We proudly count 120 among our Member & Signatory Countries, with 102 ratifying the ISA Framework Agreement, showcasing our growing global influence. With the firm support of Member Countries, ISA has successfully launched initiatives to accelerate solar adoption, foster innovation, and enhance capacity-building efforts.”
At this assembly, the fulcrum of the discussions will be the means and modes that will be adopted to accelerate solar deployment across Member Countries, especially in regions with limited energy access.
The Assembly’s seventh session will be followed by a day-long series of sessions styled as a ‘High-Level Conference on New Technologies for Clean Energy Transition’ on November 5, hosted in collaboration with the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy, the Government of India, the Asian Development Bank, and the International Solar Energy Society.
The Assembly proceedings will conclude on November 6 with a visit to a farm site on the outskirts of New Delhi showcasing the practical implementation of agro-voltaic systems. The site in Najafgarh is maintained by the India Agrivoltaics Alliance, an initiative of the National Solar Energy Federation of India (NSEFI), along with like-minded organisations dedicated to advancing the concept of agrivoltaics in India, which involves the simultaneous use of land for both agriculture and solar energy generation.
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