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Solar alliance to select new director general next week

ByJayashree Nandi, New Delhi
Oct 30, 2024 06:14 AM IST

The present ISA DG Ajay Mathur’s tenure ends in March next year. The three candidates nominated are from Ethiopia, Ghana and India.

The International Solar Alliance (ISA) will select its new director general next week at the seventh session of the ISA assembly to be held between November 3 and 6.

Workers clean photovoltaic panels inside a solar power plant in Gujarat. (REUTERS)
Workers clean photovoltaic panels inside a solar power plant in Gujarat. (REUTERS)

The present ISA DG Ajay Mathur’s tenure ends in March next year. The three candidates nominated are from Ethiopia, Ghana and India.

The director general shall be selected by the Assembly. “It is perhaps the most interesting and important part of this year’s assembly. Four countries sent in nominations. A selection committee made up of 4 countries--Guyana, France, Bangladesh and Mauritius went through the four nominations. They nominated 3 as per nomination rules which include Ghana, Ethiopia and India. So, these 3 candidates will be making presentations at the assembly and then the assembly will be voting,” said Mathur.

Mathur’s four-year tenure ends on March 14 next year. “I could have renewed my tenure but decided not to. Rest of the two important agenda items are to do with work plans and budget,” Mathur said.

ISA, a joint initiative between India and France was conceptualized on the side lines of COP21 in Paris in 2015. Following a 2020 amendment to its Framework Agreement, all UN member states are now eligible to join the Alliance. Currently, 103 countries are members. Its mission is to unlock $1 trillion in solar investments by 2030.

The Director General’s role is to support the Assembly in advancing the International Solar Alliance mandate and supports Member states to address common challenges and engage in coordinated action to scale up the deployment of solar energy. The Director General who is the Chief Executive Officer is responsible to the Assembly for resource mobilization and also for all the activities of the International Solar Alliance secretariat, as well as its administration.

“In the past 4 years, the biggest achievement is building credibility in the eyes of both developing country and the developed countries. We built it by looking at issues that are important to everybody manufacturing for example, building capacity by rewriting regulations, we have an entery into energy ministries across the world.”

The selection of DG shall be by consensus of the Members present, or, if no, consensus can be reached, by a majority vote of two-thirds of the Members present and voting.

On the global goal of tripling of renewable energy capacity by 2030 which was agreed on by countries at COP28 in Dubai, “it is most probable,” Mathur said.

“This year we had four auctions in India where we wanted round the clock renewable electricity. All of them used solar, and wind and storage. The prices they got was between 4 and 5. The new coal power plants which came on line where 5 or more. To me, this means that economically we have turned the corner. If we can get enough land, evacuation of electricity produced in these lands, and if we get money for investments because electricity is cheaper but investment is almost double, then, we are on track for tripling,” he said.

“So, we will not only do the 500 GW, we will do much more. Now the point has come when people who are funding like bankers can ask legitimately why are you going with a fossil fuel when solar power is cheaper. Tripling is probable,” he added.

The issue of infrastructure for countries to be able to absorb solar energy properly however has to be upscaled through more transmission lines, he clarified.

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