Lok Sabha Question No. 26 (STARRED), answered on 2016-11-17
Subject: International Solar Alliance
Ministry: NEW AND RENEWABLE ENERGY
Asked by: GOKARAJU GANGA RAJU

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF NEW AND RENEWABLE ENERGY

## LOK SABHA STARRED  QUESTION NO. 26

TO BE ANSWERED ON 17.11.2016

## INTERNATIONAL SOLAR ALLIANCE

## *26. DR. GOKARAJU GANGA RAJU

Will the Minister of NEW AND RENEWABLE ENERGY be pleased to state:

- (a) the extent to which solar energy is tapped and put to use in the country;
- (b) the  status  of  setting  up  of  the  International  Solar  Alliance  (ISA)  and  the  progress made so far in achieving goals set under the alliance?
- (c) whether ISA faces challenge from US as the latter desire the alliance to function as an informal arrangement  and if so, the details thereof; and
- (d) the reaction of the Govt. thereto?

## ANSWER

THE  MINISTER  OF  STATE  FOR  POWER,  COAL  &  NEW  AND  RENEWABLE ENERGY (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) (SHRI PIYUSH GOYAL)

- (a) to (d) : A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

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## STATEMENT

## STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a), (b), (c) & (d) OF THE LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 26 TO BE ANSWERED ON 17.11.2016

(a), (b), (c) &(d): As on 31 st October, 2016, Solar Energy Projects with an aggregate capacity of over 8727.62 MW has been installed in the country.

The International Solar Alliance (ISA) was launched on 30 th November, 2015 at Paris, France  on  the  side-lines  of  21 st Conference  of  Parties  to  the  United  Nations  Framework Convention  on  Climate  Change  (UNFCCC).  The  Paris  Declaration  on  ISA  is  given  at Annexure.

On 25 th January,  2016,  the  Foundation  Stone  for  the  proposed  Headquarters  of  the ISA was laid at Gurgaon, Haryana (India) and its interim Secretariat was inaugurated. The International  Steering  Committee  (ISC)  of  the  ISA  has  held  four  meetings  so  far.  The Framework Agreement of ISA has been finalized after discussions with various stakeholders. It was presented in the fourth meeting of the ISC of ISA. The Framework Agreement of ISA has been signed by 20 member countries including India, France, Brazil and others on 15 th November, 2016 at Marrakech, Morocco on the side-lines of COP-22.

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## Annexure

## Declaration on the occasion to launch the International Solar Alliance of countries dedicated to the promotion of solar energy

Recognizing that sustainable development, universal energy access, and energy security are critical to the shared prosperity and future of our planet, and acknowledging that clean and renewable energy needs to be made affordable for all, we do hereby declare our intention to support India's proposal to launch an international solar alliance as a common platform for cooperation among solar resource rich countries lying fully or partially between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn.

United by a shared vision to bring clean, affordable and renewable energy within the reach of all,  we  affirm  our  intention  to  join  the  international  solar  alliance  as  founding  members  to ensure the promotion of green, clean and sustainable energy, and to draw on the beneficence of the Sun in this endeavour.

We share the collective ambition to undertake innovative and concerted efforts with a view to reducing the cost of finance and cost of technology for immediate deployment of competitive solar generation assets in all our countries and to pave the way for future solar generation, storage and good technologies adapted to our countries' individual needs.

United by our objective to significantly augment solar power generation in our countries, we intend  making  joint  efforts  through  innovative  policies,  projects,  programmes,  capacity building measures and financial instruments to mobilize more than 1000 Billion US Dollars of  investments  that  are  needed  by  2030  for  the  massive  deployment  of  affordable  solar energy.  We recognize that the reduced cost of finance would enable us to undertake more ambitious solar energy programmes to bring development and prosperity for our people.

We intend working together towards the development of appropriate benchmarks, facilitating resource assessments, supporting research and development and demonstration facilities, with a view to encouraging innovative and affordable applications of solar technologies.

Desirous of establishing an international alliance of countries dedicated to the promotion of solar energy as an effective mechanism of cooperation, we agree to create an International Steering  Committee,  open  to  interested  countries,  to  provide  the  necessary  guidance, direction and advice to establish the international solar alliance.

Monday, 30 th November, 2015.

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