U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and Indian Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri met on September 16, 2024, in Washington DC, for the 3rd Strategic Clean Energy Partnership (SCEP) Ministerial meeting.
They reviewed progress in areas such as power efficiency, responsible oil and gas, renewable energy, emerging technologies, and sustainable growth. Both welcomed advancements in clean energy innovation, energy security, and efforts to develop resilient and diversified supply chains to support the clean energy transition.
“While recognizing the need to work towards a just, orderly and sustainable energy transition, which prioritizes access to reliable, affordable, and clean energy supplies, the sides welcomed the important role that energy trade plays in supporting the national priorities of both countries,” said a statement from the US Department of Energy. “The ministers recognized the progress the two countries have made to accelerate development and deployment of emerging clean energy technologies, advancing renewable energy deployment and reliable grid integration, promote energy efficiency, and advance decarbonization of high-emitting sectors like industry, buildings, and transport.”
According to the statement, both Secretary Granholm and Minister Puri expressed satisfaction for the launch of the Renewable Energy Technology Action Platform (RETAP) in August 2023, aimed at developing roadmaps for hydrogen, long-duration energy storage, offshore wind, and geothermal energy through research, development, and collaboration. They also praised the progress of RETAP and highlighted the collaboration on India’s new National Centre for Hydrogen Safety and the 2nd International Conference on Green Hydrogen in 2024.
The ministers emphasized ongoing cooperation on hydrogen R&D, cost reduction, and implementation of hydrogen hubs in both countries. They also supported green hydrogen use in heavy vehicles like buses and tractors.
It further noted, the ministers stressed the importance of integrating renewable energy into grids while ensuring reliability through energy storage. They welcomed the launch of the public-private Energy Storage Task Force to focus on policy, safety, and innovative models, along with RETAP’s efforts on long-duration storage and alternatives to Li-ion batteries. They also acknowledged work on energy storage systems in Assam and Haryana and recognized pumped storage as a long-term solution.
“The two countries highlighted the importance of modernizing the power distribution sector to supply 24/7 reliable power to consumers, welcomed support for India’s smart metering deployment, as well as expanded efforts on inverter-based resources, power market reforms, system inertia estimation, and cybersecurity,” added the statement.
