In the run-up to the second general assembly of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) to be held in New Delhi from 30 October—2 November, the first treaty-based international government organization headquartered in India has stepped up efforts to sign up two-dozen new countries from geographies such as West Asia.

• ISA will see the number of inducted countries that have signed its framework agreement reach 100 nations at its second general assembly, from the 76 countries who are currently signatories to the landmark agreement.
• Prominent inter-governmental organizations in the energy sector include the Vienna-based Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) and Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA).
• Initially, ISA envisaged 121 sunshine countries situated between the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn as its members. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had pitched for a global electricity grid while inaugurating the first general assembly of the ISA in October 2018. He had also announced the “universalization" of membership with India moving the proposal to make all United Nations members eligible for ISA membership in the assembly.
• According to reports China and Pakistan showing interest in becoming members of the alliance. While 76 countries are signatories to the ISA framework agreement, 54 have ratified it. While those countries who have signed and ratified the ISA framework agreement will attend the second general assembly as members, those countries who have only inked it will be attending as observers.
• India has taken the lead as a clean energy champion and is ranked fourth and fifth, globally, in installed capacities for wind and solar power, respectively. India has become one of the top renewable producers globally with ambitious capacity expansion plans. The country has an installed renewable energy capacity of 80 gigawatts (GW) and is running the world’s largest renewable energy programme with plans to achieve 175GW by 2022 and 500GW by 2030, as part of its climate commitments.
• At present, India has an installed power-generation capacity of 357,875 megawatts (MW), of which around 22% or 80,000 MW is generated through clean energy projects such as solar and wind. With addition of large hydro projects to clean energy segment, India is poised to have 225 GW of renewable energy by 2022.

What is the International Solar Alliance?

The International Solar Alliance (ISA) is a treaty-based international organization. The Parties to the Framework Agreement on the Establishment of the International Solar Alliance (Framework Agreement) have established the ISA to:

• mobilize more than USD 1,000 billion into solar power by 2030

• accelerate the development and deployment of over 1,000GW of solar generation capacity in member countries

to meet energy demands and to bring prosperity, energy security and sustainable development through solar. Put simply, our goal is to make the sun shine brighter.

When did the Framework Agreement enter into force?

• The Framework Agreement entered into force on 6 December 2017.

Who can be an observer?

• Under Article IX of the Framework Agreement, the Assembly may grant observer status to States whose applications for membership or partnership are pending, or organisations which can further the interests and objectives of the ISA

How will the International Solar Alliance be funded?

• All costs relating to the running of the ISA will be funded through voluntary contributions of member-countries, partner countries, partner organisations and Strategic Partners. Funds may also be raised through specific activities approved by the Assembly of the ISA. The ISA Secretariat is also working to build a sizeable corpus fund to help sustain the ISA’s activities in the long-term.
• The Government of India has already contributed US$16 million to the establishment of the ISA. In addition, Coal India, Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA), National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), Power Grid, Power Finance Corporation (PFC), Rural Electrification Corporation Limited (REC), Solar Energy Corporation of India(SECI), have made contributions of US $ 1 million to the ISA corpus fund.

How can the International Solar Alliance support member countries in solar deployment?

• The ISA will help aggregate and harmonize demand across member countries, thus creating a large ‘buyers’ market’, with the objective of lowering costs for members, and catalyzing innovation and investments. It will enable participating countries to leverage the opportunities of a greater market power and the learnings and network of developers, financiers, innovators and existing institutions in all parts of the globe.

Can the International Solar Alliance help in ensuring access to low cost finance?

• The ISA will be a facilitator of technology, knowledge and finance. At this stage, the ISA will not be funding projects directly, but will assist member countries in finding suitable bilateral or multilateral funding, and in developing innovative financial packages to bring down the cost of capital. The World Bank and French Development Agency are developing a Solar Risk Mitigation Facility for this purpose. In addition, the ISA will work with countries who offer substantial bilateral ODA to earmark at least 15 % for solar projects from ISA member countries, and support the development of bankable projects.