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Close on the heels of several business and trade delegations that visited India in recent weeks, particularly those sponsored by the US-India Business Council, and also the visits of Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, Energy Secretary Sam Bodman and US Trade Representative Susan Schwab, yet another US mission will visit India this week to tap into that country's market for enormous energy requirements.
US Assistant Secretary of Commerce David Bohigian will lead a trade delegation comprising 17 American companies involved in clean energy technologies to match US companies with opportunities in India's markets where American clean technology goods and services can help improve the environment.
Bohigian said that "the companies participating in the Clean-Energy Technologies Trade Mission range from startups to multi-billion dollar enterprises."
He said the mission -- comprising US companies of all sizes -- that would also visit China would "have an opportunity to take a leadership role in providing innovative solutions to energy needs in an environmentally responsible way," as the Chinese and Indian markets "continue their rapid growth," and in the process "encounter unprecedented energy and environmental challenges."
The American companies, he said, that would be going on the mission specialize in renewable energy, energy efficiency, clean coal and distributed generation sectors, "and they represent innovative solutions to China and India's energy and environmental challenges and are potential partners to the countries' business and government leaders."
Bohigian said the companies ranged in size from fewer than five employees to several thousand employees, and that all of them belong to industries promoted by the Asia Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate. The APP is a Presidential Initiative to achieve a reduction in the intensity of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse emissions and enhance energy security, in the context of sustained economic growth.
The APP is a public-private including six partners countries, representing half of the world's economy, population and energy consumption Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea and the United States.
He noted that these "member countries work together to break down policy barriers and facilitate commercial deployment of technologies than reduce greenhouse gas emissions and enhance energy security."
The invitation by the Department of Commerce's International Trade Administration, to these firms to join in the mission, said that "clean-energy technologies have moved to the forefront of energy infrastructure investments in India and China."
"These two powerhouse economies are seeking to diversify energy sources while reducing carbon emissions in the context of sustained economic growth," it noted, adding that "clean energy investments in both nations will be enormous over the next 10 years, so now is the time to enter these important markets."
The DOC said in the case of India, it plans 100 gigawatts of new power over the next 10 years, including 10 GW from renewable sources, and that this includes the electrification of 18,000 remote villages, and hence clean coal technologies would play an important role in India.