United States and China to Cooperate on Clean Energy
Energy Boom
On President Obama’s recent trip to China, he met with China’sPresident Hu Jintao to discuss a wide variety of energy and environmentrelated topics. Together the two presidents announced a far-reachingpackage of measures to strengthen cooperation between the United Statesand China on issues of clean and renewable energy.
The initiatives included:
1. U.S.-China Electric Vehicles Initiative.Building on the first-ever US-China Electric Vehicle Forum in September2009, this initiative will include joint standards development,demonstration projects in more than a dozen cities, technicalroadmapping, and public education projects. The two leaders emphasizedtheir countries’ strong shared interest in accelerating the deploymentof electric vehicles in order to reduce oil dependence, cut greenhousegas emissions, and promote economic growth.
2. U.S.-China Energy Efficiency Action Plan.Under this new plan, the two countries will work together to improvethe energy efficiency of buildings, industrial facilities, and consumerappliances. U.S. and Chinese officials will work together and with theprivate sector to develop energy-efficient building codes and ratingsystems, benchmark industrial energy efficiency, train buildinginspectors and energy efficiency auditors for industrial facilities,harmonize test procedures and performance metrics for energy efficientconsumer products, exchange best practices in energy efficient labelingsystems, and convene an annual U.S.-China Energy Efficiency Forum.
3. U.S.-China Clean Energy Research Center.This Center will facilitate joint research and development of cleanenergy technologies by teams of scientists and engineers from theUnited States and China, as well as serve as a clearinghouse to helpresearchers in each country. The Center will be supported by public andprivate funding of at least $150 million over five years, split evenlybetween the two countries. Initial research priorities will be:building energy efficiency; clean coal — including carbon capture andstorage; and clean vehicles.
4. U.S.-China Renewable Energy Partnership.Under the Partnership, the two countries will develop roadmaps forwidespread renewable energy deployment in both countries. ThePartnership will also provide technical and analytical resources tostates and regions in both countries to support renewable energydeployment and will facilitate state-to-state and region-to-regionpartnerships to share experience and best practices. A new AdvancedGrid Working Group will bring together U.S. and Chinese policymakers,regulators, industry leaders, and civil society to develop strategiesfor grid modernization in both countries.
5. 21st Century Coal.The two Presidents pledged to promote cooperation on cleaner uses ofcoal, including large-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS)demonstration projects. Through the new U.S.-China Clean EnergyResearch Center, the two countries are launching a program of technicalcooperation to bring teams of U.S. and Chinese scientists and engineerstogether in developing clean coal and CCS technologies. The twogovernments are also actively engaging industry, academia, and civilsociety in advancing clean coal and CCS solutions.
The Presidents welcomed:
- a grant from the U.S. Trade and Development Agency to the China Power Engineering Consulting Group Corporationto support a feasibility study for an integrated gasification combinedcycle (IGCC) power plant in China using American technology;
- an agreement by Missouri-based Peabody Energy to participate in GreenGen, a project of several major Chinese energy companies to develop a near-zero emissions coal-fired power plant;
- an agreement between GE and Shenhua Corporation to collaborate on the development and deployment of IGCC and other clean coal technologies;
- an agreement between AES and Songzao Coal and Electric Company to use methane captured from a coal mine in Chongqing, China, for generating electricity.
6. Shale Gas Initiative.Under this Initiative, the U.S. and China will use experience gained inthe United States to assess China’s shale gas potential, promoteenvironmentally-sustainable development of shale gas resources, conductjoint technical studies to accelerate development of shale gasresources in China, and promote shale gas investment in China throughthe U.S.-China Oil and Gas Industry Forum, study tours, and workshops.
7. U.S.-China Energy Cooperation Program.This program will leverage private sector resources for projectdevelopment work in China across a broad array of clean energyprojects, to the benefit of both nations. More than 22 companies arefounding members of the program. The ECP will include collaborativeprojects on renewable energy, smart grid, clean transportation, greenbuilding, clean coal, combined heat and power, and energy efficiency.
AlisonPruitt is a freelance writer/editor living near Washington DC. She haswritten about a variety of issues, including education, healthcare, IT,the arts, and energy/environment — and has worked with the U.S.Department of Energy. She has a B.A. from Oberlin College and a Ph.D.in English Literature from Rutgers University.
Original Article on EnergyBoom
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