Washington, DC-This week, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet with U.S. President Donald Trump, administration officials, industry and business leaders. USEA Executive Director, Barry Worthington, looks forward to a productive visit that promises strong cooperation between the U.S. and India on energy development, infrastructure expansion, resource management and other issues.
In a statement, Worthington said:
“USEA has worked to expand energy access in India for more than two decades. We support Prime Minister Modi’s energy goals, including universal access to electricity. For 20 years, American energy companies have offered friendship to Indian counterparts to collaborate on system operations, improve reliability, implement modern regulatory practices, reduce poverty and improve the lives of their customers. “Since Prime Minister Modi took office in 2014, he has brought electricity to an additional 200 million citizens in an effort to reduce poverty, increase prosperity, and bring a greater sense of equality among Indians. “In the United States, many of us take electricity and our energy resources for granted. We applaud the high premium Prime Minister Modi has placed on diversity of energy supplies that include oil, natural gas, nuclear, coal, renewables, and alternative energy sources like agro waste, to meet the country’s growing demand for electricity and energy.
“Prime Minister Modi pursues affordable energy for his citizens, resource security, energy independence and prudent energy resource management, including energy efficiency and conservation. He is also a supporter of new clean energy technology, such as carbon capture and sequestration (CCS). This invites strong cooperation between our countries as the U.S. continues to lead the global effort to advance CCS. “The U.S. is also the world’s largest producer of natural gas, a fuel source critical to India’s economic development. India relies on natural gas as a primary fuel for electricity generation, transportation and industrial processes. U.S. resources can contribute to India expanding its reliance on affordable and secure liquefied natural gas (LNG).
“Our countries can share best practices. Indian citizens have historically done a great job practicing energy efficiency. Those principles, rooted in Vedic traditions of energy resource management and conservation, are critical to ensuring that we meet a growing global energy demand while reducing emissions. “In our view, the U.S. and India are natural partners on energy, and we look forward to continuing our work with India and Prime Minister Modi.”
