The Indian government submitted a resolution to the first assembly of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) for that amends the framework agreement of the ISA.

The amendment refers to opening ISA membership to all the countries that are members of the United Nations.

Earlier, the ISA mandate addressed overcoming the obstacles to deploying solar energy at scale through the improved harmonization and aggregation of demand from solar-rich countries located fully or partially between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn.

As of now 70 counties have signed the ISA framework agreement and 47 countries have signed and ratified it.

Expanding the ISA membership is expected to put solar energy on the global agenda with the universal appeal for developing and deploying solar energy. It will also make ISA inclusive, whereby all member countries that are members of the United Nations could become members of the ISA.

Recently, during the second plenary session of the second Global Renewable Energy Investment Meeting and Expo (REINVEST- 2018), SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son said that he will give free power from solar power projects after 25 years of PPA to all ISA member countries.

Earlier, at the inaugural conference of the ISA held in New Delhi, the Government of India pledged $1.4 billion to fund the development of solar projects in 15 African and South Asian countries that are part of the ISA consortium.

Mercom had also reported that the ISA is seeking to deploy more than 1,000 GW of solar energy and mobilize more than $1,000 billion (~₹63,468.7 billion) into solar energy by 2030

The ISA is an Indian initiative that was jointly launched by the Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi and the president of France on November 30, 2015, in Paris, on the sidelines of COP-21, the UN Climate Conference.

On December 6, 2017, ISA became a treaty-based international intergovernmental organization after Guinea ratified the organization’s framework agreement.

Image credit: Flickr

Nitin is a staff reporter at Mercomindia.com and writes on renewable energy and related sectors. Prior to Mercom, Nitin has worked for CNN IBN, India News, Agricultural Spectrum and Bureaucracy Today. He received his bachelor’s degree in Journalism & Communication from Manipal Institute of Communication at Manipal University and Master’s degree in International Relations from Jindal School of International Affairs. More articles from Nitin Kabeer