Trialogue session at International Solar Festival 2024 highlights path to resilient solar supply chains for Global South

New Delhi, September 06, 2024: The Trialogue Session on ‘Making solar the energy source of choice- Building resilient supply chains for clean energy transitions in the Global South,’ held during the International Solar Festival (ISA) 2024, brought together industry leaders, policymakers, and representatives from international coalitions to discuss strategies for creating more resilient solar PV supply chains. Organized by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) in partnership with the Becquerel Institute at the Private Sector Pavilion, the session highlighted the urgent need to diversify global solar supply chains to support clean energy transitions, especially in developing countries.

Experts call for strategic investments, climate funding, and international collaboration to accelerate clean energy transitions and achieve global net-zero goals

Dr Vibha Dhawan, Director General, TERI, opened the session by highlighting the critical need for energy security and sustainable solutions in India, emphasising that renewable energy sources such as biofuel, wind, hydro, and solar offer viable options. She pointed out that India has a significant competitive edge in solar energy due to its higher number of sunny days and superior illumination levels, which positions the country favourably in the global renewable energy landscape. “We are also looking for greener energy. And, that is where the solar or electricity generated from solar is going to play a very important role. At the same time, electric vehicles will only become green if you are ensuring that the energy generated is also green. This is where solar is going to play a big role. The energy transition will bring many opportunities for the country,” added Dr Dhawan.

Moderated by Mr Ajay Shankar, Distinguished Fellow, TERI, the discussion brought together key voices from across the solar energy sector, including representatives from leading corporations and international organizations. Industry experts highlighted the need for substantial investments and collaborative efforts to enhance solar PV production capacities and diversify supply chains.

Highlighting the need for customised storage solutions as the need of the hour for the country to scale up renewable energy, Dr Rambabu Paravastu, Chief Sustainability Officer, Greenko, said, “The storage solutions in India are significantly different from other countries because of the national grid. So, we are building up to something like by 100 gigawatts-hours of pumped storage by 2030.”

“What really happens is that wherever we have the solar potential, wind potential, storage potential, we can harness and nicely combine all of it to have an intelligent renewable energy platform to meet the energy demand 24x7,” he further added.

“Whatever we do today, it's going to multiply at least fourfold as a country,” added Ms Sunita Sule, Head of Office - Corporate Government Relations, BASF Ltd. Highlighting the focus of BASF, she added, “For BASF, it's a huge challenge and a concern to ensure a low carbon, or rather low carbon operations. We have several initiatives going on in the organization, but it all starts with renewable energy. Our ambition is to cut 25% of our scope one and scope two (carbon emissions) by 2030.”

Sharing his perspective on Climate funding Mr Rohit Kumar, Secretary General, Carbon Markets Association of India (CMAI), remarked, “Climate funding has a huge role to play in green transition. Global South needs a lot of climate funding and solan has a critical role to play in the coming days. The good part is that climate funding for those countries is giving better prices because those countries are LDC countries. So that is an opportunity which we have.”

Summarizing the session, Mr Ajay Shankar, emphasised, “The world needs to get to net zero as soon as possible as the window of saving mankind is getting smaller. We have to get away from fossil fuels and solar is a great success story.”

The Trialogue Session concluded with a collective call to action for deeper cooperation and strategic investments to build diversified and resilient supply chains. As the International Solar Festival 2024 continues, it remains a key platform for fostering such critical dialogues, contributing to universal energy access and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.