U.S. offers to help India expand renewable energy share
Thursday, 24 April 2008, 18:19 IST
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Chennai: The U.S. is all for helping India expand its renewable energy share, a top US official said here Wednesday, stressing on the importance of "clean technology". "America's goal, both through bilateral and multilateral efforts, is to help India expand the share of renewables in India's power generation mix as the country's overall generation capacity grows," said David H. McCormick, under secretary for international affairs, US Department of Treasury. McCormick was delivering the keynote address on 'Infrastructure - Focus on Clean Technology' at a Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) meet here. According to him, Tamil Nadu, traditionally an energy-rich state, has the potential to lead the way in terms of development and wide adoption of alternative energy projects. As India's presence in global markets expands, it is also increasingly being called upon to address global challenges, he noted. But only if it can demonstrate "much-needed leadership on common challenges and opportunities such as climate change, energy security, global trade and investment", can India become a global player, the US official said. McCormick emphasised that "infrastructure, financial sector liberalisation, bilateral investment, clean technology and multilateral trade can be the areas of interest for the US and India". He added that the US is exploring the possibility of "a bilateral investment treaty with India on the US model that allows investors to establish businesses in all sectors except where specifically prohibited". India needs to attract private and foreign investment by addressing the concerns of investors related to regulatory environments, dispute settlement and investor protection, financial sector development and capital account issues, he said. "Financial sector liberalisation and capital markets reform will effectively be the linchpin for sustaining India's growth trajectory and mobilising the huge amount of capital needed to meet the country's development needs," he noted. G.R.K Reddy, CII chairman (Chennai Zone), and K.S. Venkatagiri, principal counsellor of CII Godrej Green Business Centre, also addressed the meet. Reddy pointed out that Tamil Nadu would require an investment of nearly $100 billion for its infrastructure needs in the next five years. Venkatagiri spoke on 'Clean Energy Opportunities in India'. He said that "India currently has over 200 green buildings, representing the second largest green building footprint in the world," adding that energy savings achieved in the country were valued at $10 billion.
Source: IANS
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