India-US Strategic Clean Energy Partnership

• 20 Jul 2023

For Prelims: India US Strategic Clean Energy Partnership, Renewable Energy Technologies Action Platform

For Mains: India-US Relations

Source: PIB

Why in the News?

The Ministerial meeting of the US-India Strategic Clean Energy Partnership (SCEP) was held between Indian Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas and US Energy Secretary in New Delhi.

• Both sides noted the critical importance of bilateral clean energy engagement and the achievements of the SCEP in strengthening energy security, creating opportunities for clean energy innovation, addressing climate change and creating employment generation opportunities.

What are the Key Highlights of the Meeting?

• Review of the Ambitious and Dynamic SCEP Mandate:
  • Collaboration across a wide breadth of clean energy work streams, including clean and renewable energy, energy efficiency
  • Emerging technologies like battery storage and swapping technologies, gas hydrates, advanced biofuels, and hydrogen and electrolyzed production.
• Commitments:
  • Agreed to work toward development of Net zero village in India to support the clean energy transition.
  • Establishment of the public-private Energy Storage Task Force to support the clean energy transition;
  • Deployment of hydrogen technologies through the public-private Hydrogen Task Force.
  • Launch of the U.S.-India New and Emerging Renewable Energy Technologies Action Platform (RETAP) to accelerate development of key technologies to advance common ambitious clean energy goals.
• Affirmed Global Biofuels Alliance:
  • This Alliance will be aimed at facilitating cooperation and intensifying the use of sustainable biofuels, including in the transportation sector.
    • Brazil, India and US as leading biofuel producers and consumers, with other interested countries.
  • The Alliance shall work in collaboration with the Clean Energy Ministerial Biofuture Platform, the Mission Innovation Bioenergy initiatives, and the Global Bioenergy Partnership (GBEP).
• South Asia Group for Energy (SAGE):
  • Both sides launched the SAGE to deepen the engagement between Indian agencies and US national laboratories to support research, analysis and capacity building activities such as building modelling capacity in Life Cycle Assessment of low carbon technologies and analytics on energy consumption in building sector.
• Other Concerns:
  • The addition of Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage as a work stream under the Emerging Fuels and Technology Pillar.
  • The collaboration of US Agency for International Development (USAID) with various Indian agencies including Indian Railways, NTPC Green National Skills Development Corporation, Skills Council for Green Jobs, and the Forum of Regulators.

What is Strategic Clean Energy Partnership?

• The SCEP was launched in accordance with the US - India Climate and Clean Energy Agenda 2030 Partnership announced by both countries at the Leaders’ Summit on Climate held in 2021.
• The SCEP advances energy security and innovation with greater emphasis on electrification and decarbonization of processes and end uses; scaling up emerging clean energy technologies; finding solutions for hard-to-decarbonize sectors; and deploying technical solutions.
• The SCEP was earlier established as the Strategic Energy Partnership in 2018 and had replaced the U.S.-India Energy Dialogue, the previous intergovernmental engagement for energy cooperation.

UPSC Civil Services Examination, Previous Year Questions (PYQs)

Mains:

Q. What is the significance of Indo-US defence deals over Indo-Russian defence deals? Discuss with reference to stability in the Indo-Pacific region. (2020)

Q. ‘What introduces friction into the ties between India and the United States is that Washington is still unable to find for India a position in its global strategy, which would satisfy India’s National self-esteem and ambitions’. Explain with suitable examples. (2019)