Upcoming Workshop in Hyderabad on New Funding for Indo-U.S. Cooperation on Clean Energy

I am headed to Hyderabad this week for a June 21st meeting on what will be the first workshop to encourage Indian and U.S. researchers to take advantage of a major new opportunity for cooperation on critical clean energy research. India and the United States, under the Partnership to Advance Clean Energy (PACE), have released the funding opportunity announcement establishing the Indo-U.S. Joint Clean Energy Research and Development Center (JCERDC).  The Joint Clean Energy Center has the potential to become the model for future clean energy collaboration between these two countries.

As my colleague, Shravya Reddy, details in her blog, the Indian and U.S. governments will provide a total of 50 million dollars for the development of this center to promote cutting-edge research in three priority areas. These are: (1) energy efficiency in buildings, (2) second-generation biofuels, and (3) solar energy. The allocated funds need to be matched by private resources and will be disbursed over the period of five years to one consortium in each of the three priority areas, comprised of at least 2 Indian and 2 U.S. participants, making it a truly joint effort.

NRDC is working with ASCI (Administrative Staff College of India, Hyderabad), and CEEW (Council on Energy, Environment and Water) to support the effective implementation of the JCERDC. To attract top scientific expertise to the Joint Center proposals, we are holding the first of a series of workshops in Hyderabad, on the morning of June 21st, 2011, at the ASCI campus. The workshop will be a forum to actively disseminate information about the structure and process of the Center, and create opportunities for partnerships amongst different stakeholders, entailing public and private sector companies, research institutions, universities and nonprofit organizations.

As we work towards the goal of the JCERDC’s success, we are receiving much positive interest and enthusiasm from diverse stakeholders both in India and the U.S. This is the first collaboration of its kind with such great potential to unleash energy solutions that can combat climate change, and we are working with our partners to ensure the visibility and success of the Center’s projects, and also provide feedback, comments and analysis on its substance, program design and review.

Over the course of the next few months we will continue to support the creation of the JCERDC through similar efforts. These tie into our overall goals of enhancing the development of clean energy solutions and of greater collaboration between India and the U.S. Establishing the Indo-U.S. JCERDC is particularly important and timely, as both countries are among the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitters, with a high proportion of their emissions arising from energy use. We are thus excited to be closely involved with the tracking and analysis of this collaboration, which we envision to be a key step towards making the transition to a low carbon economy. So for those who can make it, we hope you will join us in Hyderabad, and be part of this lively discussion!