China Welcome To Be Part Of International Solar Alliance: RK Singh

China is welcome to be part of the International Solar Alliance (ISA), as the membership of the 116-country compact was open to all, said RK Singh, Minister for Power and Renewable Energy, who was addressing the inaugural session of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) Assembly here on Tuesday.

“The membership of the International Solar Alliance is open to all member states of the United Nations and everyone is welcome to join,” said Singh, who’s also Co-President, ISA Assembly.   Although China was one of  the world's largest producer and supplier of solar panels, it wasn't part of the group that was established in 2015 under the leadership of India and France.

“It is true that 80 per cent of the manufacturing capacity, polysilicon wafers and above, is in China. However, there is a need to diversify manufacturing and this was particularly apparent during the pandemic. So most countries have now set up their own manufacturing facilities,” said Singh.

The 'Paris Agreement,' which pledged nations to preventing global warming to more than 2 degrees Celsius and to "as far as possible" keep it below 1.5 degrees Celsius, was the catalyst for the establishment of the International Solar Alliance (ISA). Although there have been hints since 2018 that China would join the ISA, nothing has come to pass, and the suspension of diplomatic ties between China and India has further delayed developments, sources told BW.

By establishing 1,000 gigawatts (1 gigawatt or GW is equal to 1000 megawatts or MW), the ISA, which has its Secretariat in Gurugram, Haryana, hopes to mobilise USD 1 billion in solar energy solutions by 2030 and provide electricity access to 1 billion people. According to the group, this would reduce a billion tonnes of CO2 yearly. Its main objective is to increase the number of solar panel installations in Africa.

“Last year, of the  USD 310 billion invested in solar power, less than 3 per cent was invested in Africa. For this reason, much of the efforts are to increase investment in big solar plants as well as small solar micro-grids, rooftop solar, solar cold storages, etc. In the past year, we have invested in 20 solar start-ups in Africa,” Ajay Mathur, Director-General, ISA, said.

China is one of the main developer and investor in sustainable energy projects in a number of African nations. For example, in the first half of 2023, South Africa's imports of solar panels from China quadrupled, while the continent of Africa as a whole doubled its imports of Chinese solar panels. 

According to a 2023 analysis from UK research firm Ember, the nation's panel exports increased 34 per cent from the previous year to 114 GW, surpassing the 113 GW installed solar capacity of the United States. 

But compared to the 9.5GW imported by Brazil and the 66GW imported by Europe, African imports are insignificant.

India, once a significant importer of panels from China, has stepped up domestic manufacturing and reduced such imports. 

In 2023, it imported only 2.3GW worth of panels compared to the 9.8 GW in 2022. It has, however, stepped up imports of solar cells to make its own panels and export.