INTERNATIONAL SOLAR ALLIANCE (ISA)

• Recently, the fourth general assembly of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) was held.
• A total of 108 countries participated in the assembly, including 74 member countries, 34 observer and prospective countries, 23 partner organisations and 33 special invitee organisations.

Important points:

• The ISA is an intergovernmental treaty-based organisation with a global mandate to catalyse solar growth by helping to reduce the cost of financing and technology.
• ISA, co-founded by India and France during the 2015 climate change conference in Paris has assumed centre-stage for India’ attempts at a global climate leadership role.
• ISA is the nodal agency for implementing One Sun One World One Grid (OSOWOG), which seeks to transfer solar power generated in one region to feed the electricity demands of others.
• India has allotted 5 acres of land to the ISA in National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE) campus, Gurugram and has released a sum of Rs. 160 crore for creating a corpus fund, building infrastructure and meeting day to day recurring expenditure of the ISA up to the year 2021-22.
• NISE is an autonomous institution of the Ministry of New and Renewable (MNRE) and is the apex National R&D institution in the field of Solar Energy.
• New ISA programmes launched on management of solar PV panels & battery usage waste and solar hydrogen programme.
• The new Hydrogen initiative is aimed at enabling the use of solar electricity to produce hydrogen at a more affordable rate than what is available currently (USD 5 per KG), by bringing it down to USD 2 per KG.

SOURCE: THE HINDU,THE ECONOMIC TIMES ,MINT