US, India to Increase Collaboration for Clean Energy Development

The US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) have announced the launch of a partnership between the USAID-supported South Asia Group for Energy (SAGE) and MNRE’s National Technical Institutions.

A USAID statement said it is a step toward increasing US-India collaboration for clean energy development.

“SAGE is a US government consortium that will provide advanced technical knowledge on clean energy development embedded in the US Department of Energy’s National Laboratories to MNRE’s National Technical Institutions and other public institutes under this new partnership,” said the statement.
Strategic energy partnership

This was launched on the sidelines of the ongoing US-India Strategic Energy Partnership (SEP) meetings.

SAGE will contribute significantly towards achieving the goals of the US government’s Asia Enhancing Growth and Development through Energy (Asia EDGE) initiative, a primary pillar of the US government’s Indo-Pacific vision in South Asia, and the US-India Strategic Energy Partnership, said the statement.

“To maximise the impact of this partnership, the SAGE consortium, in discussion with MNRE and its technical institutions, the National Institute of Wind Energy and the National Institute of Biomass Energy, has identified several key topics such as building world-class capabilities in cookstove testing, to reduce the environmental and health impacts of traditional cookstove use; understanding the feasibility and impact of biomass and renewable energy hybrid systems; economic and environmental assessment of agriculture and bioenergy development; and advancing short- and long-term forecasting capabilities for wind and solar resources,” the statement added.

SAGE is a consortium consisting of USAID, the US Department of Energy, and three of the Department of Energy’s National Laboratories – Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

Source: The Hindu Business Line