WITH global warming, pollution and wildly unpredictable fossil fuel prices, renewable energy is the answer. India has played a leading role in the International Solar Alliance, but how successful has it been in facing up to the challenge of increasing solar power production capacities and bringing down the cost of solar power for consumers?

Ajay Mathur, CEO of the International Solar Alliance, says rapid strides have been made and that there is much to cheer about. Big-ticket investments changed the scale on which solar electricity is wheeled through the distribution system. Small producers have also been making solar power locally available. On the grid, solar power at Rs 1.99 per kilowatt hour is the cheapest power available at its sunshine price. The price when locally produced and distributed is higher but still lower than the price of fossil fuel power.