Germany joins International Solar Alliance

Germany has joined an international alliance of 75 countries to further the expansion of solar energy generation, the ministries for energy and development announced after a cabinet meeting. The International Solar Alliance (ISA) was founded in 2015 and initially only permitted “sunny” states with territory near the Equator to become members. The ISA is based in New Delhi and aims to build 1,000 GW of solar capacity worldwide by 2030, especially in countries approximately 2,600 km north and south of the Equator, and would mobilise the necessary financing. As a member of the ISA, Germany will be able to play an active role in ensuring that the young organisation develops its full potential in the best possible way in cooperation with other international energy organisations, the government ministries said. Being a pioneer in climate policy also means investing in a global energy transition, economic cooperation and development minister Gerd Müller said in a press release. “This creates new jobs and we achieve multiple benefits for the climate,” Müller said.

Solar power in Germany has gone through turbulent times since it got off to a flying start in the wake of Germany's Renewable Energy Act in the year 2000. German companies quickly ascended to global leadership in solar power technology before a collapse after 2012 forced many of them to drop out of business. However, far from being a sun-drenched country, Germany has one of the highest solar power outputs in the world and still boasts cutting-edge research and many new industry actors. Germany has 1.8 million solar arrays installed, which produced about 9 percent of the country's electricity in 2020.