India, US to speed up work to provide low-cost energy to needy

During the India- US Energy Dialogue, Piyush Goyal stressed on the objective of providing 24x7 power across India by 2019

India and the US will speed up efforts to bring low-cost energy access to 200 million people in the country, Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal has said.

"I am delighted that the US and India are partnering on so many issues related to energy, going forward we are looking at innovative financing solution for renewable energy," he said.

"We have decided to speed up our efforts to bring low-cost energy access to 200 million people in India who still do not have energy," he told PTI after the conclusion of the India- US Energy Dialogue here on the sidelines of the inaugural India-US Strategic and Commercial Dialogue yesterday.

US Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz led the American delegation for the Dialogue.

The American side appreciated Prime Minister Narendra Modi's commitment towards climate change, Goyal said.

During the talks, several projects including research, energy storage, carbon sequester, carbon capturing were discussed. "We have drawn up a roadmap to take the effort forward on a fast track basis," Goyal said.

"It was a very engaging dialogue, which has strengthened my confidence that the US and India can work together to expand the frontiers of knowledge on both sides," he noted.

The two countries are looking at deeper engagement in innovation, greening the grid with clean energy, modern technologies on solar and energy efficiency.

During the dialogue, Goyal stressed on the objective of providing 24x7 power across India by 2019 by creating cost effective infrastructure which was sustainable and inclusive of clean energy solutions.

Insisting that India was committed to pursue a green path to growth, he elaborated on the government's ambitious plans for deployment of 175 GW Renewable Power capacities by 2022, including 100 GW of solar and 60 GW of Wind, which may require investment of around USD 150 billion in the next seven years.

During the dialogue, presentations were made on progress made under various joint research programme like Partnership to Advance Clean Energy - Research (PACE - R), including in the field of solar energy, energy efficient buildings and biofuels.

Substantial headway has been made for the development of new technologies for distributed power generation through solar thermal route and development of new tools for improved building energy efficiency codes.

Presentations were also made on various aspects of integration of clean energy sources into existing energy infrastructure in India, as well as mechanisms for promoting financing for clean energy and cleaner fossil energy sources.

Avenues for advancing off-grid clean energy access was also discussed in depth during the Dialogue.