India to give USD30 mn to boost global solar energy generation

Le Bourget (France): India has launched an ambitious alliance of 121 developed and developing sun- drenched countries and announced an assistance of USD 30 million to dramatically boost the use of clean solar energy and reduce global carbon emissions.

The International Solar Alliance was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with French President Francois Hollande yesterday on the sidelines of the 195-nation United Nations climate summit here to tackle climate change.

The alliance from both developed and developing countries aims to mobilise USD 1 trillion by 2030 to be invested in the generation of clean solar energy.

Modi also announced that India will host the initiative in the premises of the National Institute of Solar Energy in Gurgaon, Haryana.

"The vast majority of humanity is blessed with generous sunlight round the year. Yet many are also without any source of power. We want to bring solar energy into our lives and homes by making it cheaper, more reliable and easier to connect to grid," Modi told members of the alliance.

He said that India will provide land and contribute about USD 30 million to build the Secretariat infrastructure of the initiative and support its operation for the next five years until 2021.

"This is an alliance that brings together developed and developing countries, governments and industries, laboratories and institutions in a common enterprise," Modi said.

"This day is the sunrise of new hope ?- not just for clean energy, but for villages and homes still in darkness; and for our mornings and evenings filled with a clear view of the glory of the sun," he said.

Modi said that as the developing world lifts billions of people into prosperity, the hope for a sustainable planet rests on a bold global initiative and it shows India's determination to harness the Sun's unlimited energy.

He stated that advanced countries need to leave enough carbon space for developing countries to grow. "That is natural climate justice," Modi asserted.

Hollande lauded Prime Minister Modi's initiative as a paradigm shift.

To highlight the importance of solar energy, Modi said that in Indian tradition, Sun is the source of all forms of energy.

"Today, when the energy sources and excesses of our industrial age have put our planet in peril, the world must turn to Sun to power our future," he added.

Modi highlighted that India has a capacity of 4GW and has set a target of adding 100 GW of solar power by 2022. "By the end of next year, we would have added 12 GW."

The idea of solar alliance was mooted by Modi during the the India-Africa Forum Summit last month.