The Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy Pralhad Joshi on Wednesday said that last week the country had achieved 4 lakh installations under PM-Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana. “This is rooftop solar which we have planned to connect 1 billion households,” he added.
While speaking at the curtain raiser event for the seventh session of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) Assembly, the minister said, “With almost 91 gigawatt of installed capacity in the solar power, India has added approximately 17.44 gigawatt of solar PV capacity between January to September of this year. Solar power constitutes to 20 per cent of India’s total installed power capacity showing a growth rate of more than 26 per cent compared to the previous year.”
The minister said, “ISA has evolved into a key platform for global solar cooperation, now encompassing 120 member and signatory countries. This growing commitment demonstrates solar energy's significant role in addressing our shared energy access challenges and the adverse effects of climate change.”
He added that solar energy, available year-round and in abundance in some of our member countries, holds the potential to be the game-changer in the theatre of global climate action. Its attributes of being clean, reliable, free and easily accessible to all make it central to achieving universal energy access.
Ajay Yadav, Joint Secretary, MNRE, noted, “Global solar deployment presents its challenges: investments, infrastructure, and indigenisation. Countering these challenges demands targeted efforts to support the sector's expansion."
Further highlighting ISA’s role and substantial contributions, he said that to address these challenges through various programmes, initiatives, and collaborations with governments, private enterprises, and international organisations and by working with its member countries, ISA creates opportunities to diversify global supply chains and boost solar energy demand, contributing to manufacturing capacity growth.
Under the presidency of India and co-presidency of the Republic of France, the seventh session of the International Solar Alliance Assembly will be held at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, India, from 03 November to 06 November 2024.
