The recent virtual ministerial meeting of the U.S.-India Strategic Energy Partnership (SEP) between India and the USA has made the news. The two countries came together to discuss their progress, highlight significant achievements, and identify key areas for further collaboration. Launched in April 2018, the SEP aims to foster strong government-to-government and industry partnerships. The subsequent ministerial meet is scheduled for 2021.
Structure of the SEP
The SEP encourages inter-agency participation from both countries under four primary pillars: Power and Energy Efficiency, Oil and Gas, Renewable Energy, and Sustainable Growth. Additionally, the partnership bolsters U.S efforts under the AsiaEDGE initiative, situating India as a formidable energy ally in the Indo-Pacific area.
Outcomes of the Partnership
The recent meeting resulted in several successful outcomes and new work priorities under the four pillars.
Power and Energy Efficiency
The U.S and India have joined forces on modernizing power systems. Efforts include integrating new technologies into the smart grid and modernizing the power distribution sector. Rooftop solar and smart meter deployment are some of the initiatives currently underway.
The countries are also conducting joint R&D through the Advance Clean Energy-Research (PACE-R) on smart grids and energy storage. New research areas have been identified, such as transformational power generation based on supercritical CO2 (sCO2) power cycles and advanced coal technologies with carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS).
The two nations have also committed to advance civil nuclear cooperation. Recent developments on the Westinghouse nuclear reactor project at Kovvada, Andhra Pradesh were discussed.
Oil and Gas
The nations signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to start cooperation on Strategic Petroleum Reserves operation. The potential for India to store oil in the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve was also discussed. They noted the considerable increase in bilateral hydrocarbon trade, worth $9.2 billion in 2019-20, marking a 93% increase since 2017-18.
Renewable Energy
Both sides launched a Hydrogen Task Force to help scale up technologies to produce hydrogen from renewable energy and fossil fuel sources. The objective is to reduce the cost of deployment for enhanced energy security and resiliency.
A MoU was signed to collaborate on India’s first Solar Decathlon in 2021. The initiative will establish a collegiate competition to train students to design and build energy-efficient buildings powered by renewables.
Furthermore, in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL), India initiated a project known as RAISE for healthier and energy-efficient buildings.
Sustainable Growth
Both countries are adopting best practices for energy data management and capacity building in energy modeling. USAID and NITI Aayog jointly launched the India Energy Modeling Forum to establish a network of modeling communities. This will provide a strong connection between analytical work and policy-making.
In addition, through the South Asia Women in Energy (SAWIE) platform, the countries aim to empower women in the energy sector, with a focus on technical pillars.
Future Collaborations
The two nations have also agreed to exchange information on sustainable biofuel production (bioethanol and renewable diesel) for air and sea transport. There are plans to explore cooperation on turning bio-waste into biogas, highlighting the economic value of this process.
These recent achievements and identified areas for further collaboration reflect the ongoing commitment of both countries under the U.S.-India Strategic Energy Partnership.
