India is geared up to host the first ever International Solar Festival in September 2024, as announced by the International Solar Alliance in New Delhi.
India is laying major focus on transitioning to solar energy for public infrastructure. It is also making significant investments in setting up renewable energy infrastructure, including setting up of solar parks, wind farms and manufacturing facilities for electrolysers for Green Hydrogen production. Through the International Solar Festival, India is claiming its leadership position in global south in the renewable energy sector.
“India is a global leader, and we are committed to sustainability. Hence, India has set a target of 500 GW of non-fossil energy by 2030, of which nuclear energy will be a small component. And out of 485 GW, 300GW will be achieved by renewing solar energy”, Secretary of Ministry of Renewable energy Bhupender Bhalla said during the announcement.
The International Solar Festival
The International Solar Festival is expected to commence in the month of September in 2024 in New Delhi. The international community will participate in the festival including western countries, and several countries from the continent of Africa. International institutions such as the Asian Development Bank, United Nations, World Bank and several others, are also expected to involve in the festival by committing to offer financial support to enhance the renewable energy sector in order to meet the global demand and reduce dependency on the fossil-fuels.
The festival is being organised in order to bring all the stakeholders together on a single platform which will allow them space to discuss and brainstorm different ways in which they can reduce fossil fuel dependency and empower green energy sector across the world. Considering the fact that solar is one of the fastest growing power sector, the festival will help leverage the potential and scale it further.
With a rise in climate related extreme weather events across the globe, the leaders across the world are discussing the impact of global warming on various platforms and forums. They are making efforts to work together to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change by discussing ways to reduce fossil fuel dependency. These conversations have been at the forefront at international platforms like G20 and COP28. The International Solar Festival will streamline the solarisation efforts before the COP29 scheduled to be organised this year in Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku.
