DBT Bureau
Pune, 22 August 2024
In a major advancement for strengthening bilateral energy cooperation, Union Minister for Power Manohar Lal, along with MoS Power and New & Renewable Energy Shripad Naik and senior officials from the Ministry of Power, engaged in a fruitful discussion with the US delegation headed by John Podesta, Senior Advisor to the President for International Climate Policy.
During the discussions, Manohar Lal emphasized the longstanding bilateral partnership between India and the United States, highlighting the shared commitment to a ‘clean’ energy future that fosters economic growth and development. The union minister further states that the Ministry of Power is committed to strengthening this partnership.
Union Minister also said that India and US engagements under the ‘Power & Energy Efficiency Pillar’, which is led by the Ministry of Power under the Strategic Clean Energy Partnership (SCEP), are important to realize our goals to achieve the energy transition.
John Podesta, in his remarks, said that India is a valuable partner and both countries support each other in building resilient supply chains and investment-led partnership strategy. He also remarked that India and the US can collaborate on areas like clean energy, energy storage systems and energy efficiency. He further said that the US can support India in enhancing its manufacturing capacity.
Key areas of focus during the discussions included:
- Grid and Transmission Modernization: Both sides explored the possibility of technical exchanges on efforts to upgrade grid transmission to handle future load growth. Discussions also covered policy consultations and potential financial support to advance these modernization efforts.
- Enhancing Manufacturing Capacity: Opportunities to build out India’s manufacturing capacity in critical areas like large transformers were a key topic, aiming to bolster domestic production and reduce dependency on imports.
- Energy Storage Systems: The talks delved into the possibilities of state-to-state partnerships on long-duration energy storage studies, with further collaboration on grid-scale battery storage solutions.
- High-Efficiency Cooling Systems: The discussions highlighted the importance of stimulating manufacturing projects and policies to increase India’s capacity to build, deploy, and export high-efficiency air conditioning systems and fans.
The meeting underscored the importance of the India-US partnership in driving the global clean energy transition, with both sides expressing their commitment to deepening cooperation in these critical areas.
