US-India strategic clean energy partnership stressed for reliable and affordable clean energy

During the Strategic Clean Energy Partnership (SCEP) Ministerial held on Monday, in Washington DC, US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and Indian Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri praised the progress made through their collaboration, emphasizing how the SCEP is fostering innovation and strengthening clean energy supply chains.

For an orderly and sustainable transition to green energy both countries say that priority should be given to reliable, affordable and clean energy solutions. They noted that US-India partnership is crucial for building a secure, resilient, and diverse clean energy infrastructure.

A key highlight of the discussions was the introduction of new National Centre for Hydrogen Safety in India. The collaboration on the 2nd International Conference on Green Hydrogen held in September 2024 was recognised by both nations.

The ministers underscored the expanded exchange of expertise on clean hydrogen research and development, cost reduction strategies, and the establishment of hydrogen hubs in both countries.
They also welcomed initiatives focused on using green hydrogen in buses, tractors, and heavy equipment.

The discussion emphasised the need for large-scale integration of renewable energy into the power grid. They also stressed the importance of enabling flexible and reliable grid operations through effective energy storage solutions.

The ministers welcomed the public-private energy storage task force. It will address policy issues like regulatory frameworks, safety, manufacturing and supply chains and innovative business models. The technical and economic feasibility of various storage technologies available for renewable energy battery energy storage systems.

The two countries also agreed to give an impetus to sustainable aviation fuel.

On energy efficiency, both nations reiterated their commitment and welcomed collaboration on super-efficient appliances to improve efficiency standards, boost the deployment and manufacturing of high-efficiency affordable cooling systems and promote supply chain diversification.

The ministerial also discussed the modernization of the power distribution sector to ensure continuous and reliable power supply to consumers.

The US praised the progress in India's smart metering projects and highlighted the ongoing efforts to improve inverter-based resources, implement power market reforms, estimate system inertia, and enhance cybersecurity.