India and US to expand energy partnership through emerging fuels

India and the United States (US) have agreed to expand their energy collaboration by adding emerging fuels to the areas of cooperation list that included power and energy efficiency, oil and gas, renewable energy, and sustainable growth previously to promote clean energy fuels. Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG), co-chaired a virtual meeting with the Jennifer Granholm US Secretary of Energy to launch the revised U.S.-India strategic clean energy partnership (SCEP), Oil Ministry said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Joe Biden at the Leaders’ summit on climate this year announced the SCEP was launched by the US-India climate and clean energy agenda 2030 partnership. It said that the inclusion of a fifth Pillar on emerging fuels was announced from both sides, which indicates joint resolve to promote clean energy fuels. It said that a new India-U.S. task force on biofuels was also declared to develop the scope of work on cooperation in the biofuels sector. The SCEP inter-governmental engagement now expands across five pillars of cooperation with this – power and energy efficiency, renewable energy, responsible oil and gas, sustainable growth, and emerging fuels. The meeting also evaluated the progress of the India-US civil nuclear energy cooperation. The Minister said that the revamped clean energy partnership will increase the efforts from both parties to take benefit of the complementarities that exist between India and the US for a win-win situation by a cleaner energy path with low carbon pathways, it said. After the revamp, under the renewable energy pillar, there would be much emphasis on upscaling cooperation by working on various projects and system-friendly practices in the renewable energy sector of India. The US Secretary praised India’s renewable energy target of 450 GW by 2030, the statement added. Image Source Also read: UK willing to collaborate with India on green hydrogen