The Union minister of New and Renewable Energy Pralhad Joshi said creating green jobs to support millions of livelihoods while expanding solar infrastructure is a crucial challenge to mitigate climate impacts.
Joshi, who is also president of the International Solar Alliance (ISA), was addressing representatives of 60 countries during the curtain raiser event of for the Seventh Session of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) Assembly in New Delhi.
“This growing commitment demonstrates solar energy's significant role in addressing our shared energy access challenges and the adverse effects of climate change. The progress made by ISA’s Member Countries in adopting solar energy is remarkable,” said Joshi.
Under the presidency of the Republic 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 November 3 to November 6, 2024.
Ajay Yadav, Joint Secretary, MNRE, has underlined challenges of investment global dollar expansion in its remark.
“Global solar deployment presents its challenges: investments, infrastructure, and indigenisation. Countering these challenges demands targeted efforts to support the sector's expansion,” said Yadav.
Moreover, experts also point out the challenges of lack of land for the expansion of solar energy.
“We are looking into different aspects of land challenges,” said Yadav. “How much solar rooftop can solve the problem and then how much we require land can be one way,” he further adds.
Dr Ajay Mathur, Director General of International Solar Alliance, said the adoption of new technology like the agrivoltaic technique can be one solution.
By allowing solar photovoltaic panels to be installed on cropland or fitted on agricultural facilities, agrivoltaics helps maintain the resources needed to ensure food security while promoting the transition to low-carbon energy sources.
“Experiments are going on how to integrate farming and energy production side by side by adopting agrivoltaic techniques,” said Mathur. “Creation of landbank and use of wasteland can be another way out to mitigate land conflict,” he further adds.
The International Solar Alliance is an international organisation with 120 Member & Signatory Countries. ISA’s mission is to unlock US$ 1 trillion of investments in solar by 2030 while reducing the cost of the technology and its financing. It promotes the use of solar energy in the agriculture, health, transport and power generation sectors.