New Delhi: International Solar Alliance (ISA), the India-headquartered grouping of 121 nations for promotion of solar energy, is set to become an international legal body by end October with at least 15 nations expected to have ratified the framework agreement by then. “So far, 40 countries have already signed the initiative and eleven have ratified the ISA. As soon as we get 15 ratifications, the ISA will become an international legal body. We will have 11 ratifications by 31 October,” Anand Kumar, Secretary, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) said. He was speaking at the 11th Renewable Energy India (REI) Expo here. Addressing a gathering of investors and other participants at the Expo, Kumar called for international participation to boost India’s ambitious electric mobility plan. “India is trying to strengthen its base in e-mobility which will reduce our carbon footprint. This is an area where international partners can work with us,” he said. The Modi government is currently working on a plan to have an all-electric passenger car market by 2030.
Kumar also said the ministry is working on ramping up research and development (R&D) efforts in the renewable energy sector with international partners including research organisations and universities. The research and innovation work, however, must enter the domain of commercial industrial applications with active participation of companies to be successful, he said. The REI Expo was inaugurated by Upendra Tripathy, Interim Director General of ISA; Henriette Faergemann, Counsellor-Environment, Energy, Climate Change, delegation of the European Union to India; Hans-Josef Fell, President of the Energy Watch Group; and Rene VAN BERKEL, UNIDO representative to India. The REI Expo witnessed participation from countries high on the Renewable Energy Attractiveness Index including Japan, Germany, France, Poland, USA, Korea, China and Taiwan, among others. The expo is supported by MNRE, Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA), NEDO, Indo German Energy Forum (IGEF) and Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF).
Source:EnergyWorld
