5th US-India Energy Summit Charts Out Roadmap for Enhanced Strategic Partnership

WASHINGTON, D.C. and NEW DELHI, October 3, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --

Dr Ernest Moniz, United States Secretary of Energy, said the enhanced strategic partnership announced by President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Narendra Modi marks a major development in the collaboration between the two countries in energy and sustainable development.

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Speaking at the 5^th US-India Energy Partnership Summit, Dr Moniz said, "Our partnership is robust, reliable, enduring and expanding." He added, "We can together build a clean sustainable future that President Obama and Prime Minister Modi are committed to."

Dr R K Pachauri, President, TERI North America and Director General, TERI, said, "For the first time there is optimism and an upbeat attitude towards renewable energy in India." He spoke of prospects of a breakthrough. He said that the summit discussions had developed several ideas to help implement the goals of the 'new and enhanced strategic partnership on energy security, clean energy, and climate change' announced by the leaders of the US and India.

Dr Moniz said Mr Modi "is providing a new momentum". In the area of finding low-carbon energy solutions for India's ambitious plans, Dr Moniz said nuclear energy is an area where we need to step up collaboration. He pointed out four areas "we have a strong base to build on":

• New US/India Smart Cities collaboration
• New multi-billion dollar effort to support renewable energy
• US/India partnership for climate resilience
• Training students and scholars in US/India exchange program

The two-day summit, organized by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) North America and Yale University, brought experts from the fields of energy, finance, policy, technology, climate change and environment, and deliberated on collaborations between the US and India.

USAID Administrator Dr Rajiv Shah spoke of Mr Modi's meeting with Mr Obama and their commitment to working jointly, "This cooperation represents a new opportunity for business, partnerships and investment for both the US and for India." He referred to the progress on projects in India and said, "We want to nurture innovations and share innovations in India and across the world."

Confluence of ideas

Ms Leocadia Zak, Director, US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA), emphasized the role of the private sector, "To be able to accomplish our goals, it's not just about governments, it's about the private sector, it's about the people," she said. USTDA brings US private sector, US business and links it with emerging economies. What we are doing can have mutual benefit. She said an area for significant focus is the technology grid. She cited a program involving the setting up of a roadmap for Tata Energy to reduce electric grid transmission losses which has and seen tremendous results.

Mr Sidharth Birla, President, FICCI, raised the issue of reconciling the alleviation of poverty with environmental needs. He said efficiencies should be scaled up for this and the cooperation of the government and the private sector was essential.

A recurring theme at the summit was finding simper ways to create a suitable climate for investment and private sector participation. Mr Bruce Andrews, United States Deputy Secretary of Commerce, said an important challenge was how to make it easier for US companies that wish to be a part of the Indian market. "Infrastructure collaboration plan is something they are very excited about, and for this to be successful we need to look at the business climate." He added, "We're excited and encouraged by Prime Minister Modi's goal. American companies are very excited about the Indian market."

Mr Jonathan Elkind, Assistant Secretary for International Affairs (Acting), US Department of Energy, said in times to come cities will become more hungry for energy and more difficult to manage. "How can one simply germinate good practices in isolated countries as well as provide good opportunities for investors to create favourable returns?"

Dr Peter Salovey, President, Yale University, spoke of the role of universities in enhancing cooperation between India and the US through training future leaders in technology and policy. In the area of carrying out research and providing intellectual leadership, he said Yale was involving the disciplines of architecture, environment and forestry to develop integrated solutions.

UTC and TERI partnership

In the first concrete action since the US and Indian leaders announced plans to boost cooperation in energy fields, TERI and United Technologies Corp. signed a Memorandum of Understanding to set up the Center of Excellence on Energy Efficient Buildings in India's Cities. The United Technologies - TERI Center of Excellence will be set up at and administered by TERI and will focus on ways to evaluate and enhance energy efficiency in existing buildings in India. This initiative was made possible by a donation from United Technologies.

Dr J Michael McQuade, UTC Senior Vice President of Science and Technology, said, "With India's expected urban expansion over the next 20 years, it is imperative that we make India's existing and future buildings more energy efficient. UTC's contribution to create this new Center of Excellence is a major step forward in supporting that mission."

Among the highlights of the summit was a preliminary agreement signed between TERI and UBrainTV to provide a green online TV for Indian audiences on sustainable development and education. Dr Pachauri and Mr Katsuya Kodma, Chairman of Ubrain TV, inked the document.

Opening Day highlights

On the opening day of the summit on September 30, Ms Naina Lal Kidwal, Chairman of HSBC India, said, "A clean energy revolution shows opportunities for those who are prepared to lead." Pointing out that the "challenges are huge if India is to embark on the programs it needs to," she provided an outline that emphasized the need for financing the tremendous challenges. "Here's where the US and India can work together: What are the ideas, what are the innovations in financing, what are the ways India can close the gap on access to finance? How can India better access some of the green climate funds? How can India access the BRIC's bank? What is it we need in terms of credit enhancement and access to money? We can work together on this through the US-India Summit," she said.

US Deputy Secretary of Energy, Mr Daniel Ponemon, who gave the luncheon address at the summit's High Level Corporate Dialogue, said, "There are huge environmental risks by not building environmentally, or in a way to mitigate climate change. We have every reason to act together."

But given the scale of the challenge, he said, "Government cannot do it all." Therefore, he said there was need for involving the private sector. "Capital markets move more money in a day that governments move in a year."

The government, Mr Ponemon said, "could be a first purchaser, and could set of the rules of the game and liberate private capital to scale up programs." He added, "The Department of Energy would invest early, well before it is reasonable for the private markets to invest." Areas where the government can give an initial boost is in the stage of projects that are in "the valley of death," a phase when they fail without adequate help. These are when a new idea is first being prototyped, and when an idea is beginning to be implemented, but has not yet been deployed to scale."

Speaking on nuclear plants, Mr Ponemon said, "Both India and the US have invested a lot of political capital into creating more nuclear power plants. Hopefully some of the remaining issues will be addressed in the course of deliberations." "Nuclear still has a role to play in a low-carbon energy future," he added.

"I've never seen a time where our relationship has so much potential - to create a new energy revolution which will drive manufacturing, and other issues," he said. "We need to create more of a familiarity with green assets in order to build out a more robust capital market in this area."

Dr Annapurna Vancheswaran, Vice President, TERI-NA and Director, Sustainable Development Outreach, TERI, reinforced the coincidence of the summit being held even as Mr Modi and Mr Obama were discussing avenues of deepening cooperation on various energy fronts.

ABOUT TERI:

The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) is an independent, not-for-profit research organization deeply committed to every aspect of energy, environment, and sustainable development. From providing environment-friendly solutions to rural energy problems, to helping shape the development of the Indian oil and gas sector; from tackling global climate change issues across many continents to enhancing forest conservation efforts among local communities; from advancing solutions to growing urban transportation and air pollution problems to promoting energy efficiency in Indian industries, the emphasis has always been on finding innovative solutions to make the world a better place to live in. All activities at TERI move from formulating local and national-level strategies to suggesting global solutions tackling critical energy and environment related issues.

Headed by Dr. R.K. Pachauri, also the chairperson of the Nobel Peace Prize winning climate change body, IPCC, TERI has emerged as an institution of excellence for its path-breaking research, and is a global brand widely respected by political leaders, policy makers, corporate entities as well as the civil society at large.

Media Contact: Zainab Naeem, [email protected], +91-8800286575, Research Associate, TERI