II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2719 

To establish the United States-India Climate and Clean Energy Partnership 

to facilitate clean energy cooperation with India, to enhance cooperation 

with India on climate mitigation, resilience, and adaptation, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 13, 2021 

Mr. MENENDEZ introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To establish the United States-India Climate and Clean Energy Partnership to facilitate clean energy cooperation 

with India, to enhance cooperation with India on climate 

mitigation, resilience, and adaptation, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Prioritizing Clean Energy and Climate Cooperation with 

6 India Act of 2021’’. 


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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

2 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings. 

Sec. 3. Definitions. 

Sec. 4. Sense of Congress on climate and clean energy cooperation with India. 

Sec. 5. Statement of policy. 

Sec. 6. Purposes. 

Sec. 7. Establishment of United States-India Climate and Clean Energy Partnership. 

Sec. 8. Strategy for implementation of the United States-India Climate and 

Clean Energy Partnership. 

Sec. 9. Partnerships for cooperation on research and innovation for clean energy technologies. 

Sec. 10. Initiatives for technical assistance for grid improvement and energy efficiency in India. 

Sec. 11. Initiatives for generation of new renewable energy in India. 

Sec. 12. Report on promotion of State-State clean energy cooperation. 

Sec. 13. United States-India climate change risk reduction and resilience cooperation. 

3 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

4 Congress makes the following findings: 

5 (1) India is the second most populous country 

6 in the world with a population of approximately 

7 1,334,000,000 people and is the fifth largest econ8 omy in the world with a nominal gross domestic 

9 product of approximately $2,940,000,000,000. 

10 (2) India is among the countries most vulner11 able to climate change, with hundreds of millions of 

12 people susceptible to events exacerbated by climate 

13 change, such as the spread of infectious diseases, sea 

14 level rise and extreme flooding, droughts, storms, 

15 and landslides triggered by extreme weather. 

16 (3) India releases approximately 2,500,000,000 

17 tons (carbon dioxide equivalent) of greenhouse gases 


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1 annually, making it the third largest greenhouse gas 

2 emitter after the People’s Republic of China and the 

3 United States. 

4 (4) India is one of the largest energy markets 

5 in the world and is projected to be the largest source 

6 of global energy demand growth through 2040. In7 stalled power capacity in India more than doubled 

8 between 2011 and 2021. 

9 (5) Per capita energy consumption in India is 

10 relatively low among emerging economic powers. 

11 (6) Reliable access to power is crucial for the 

12 storage of vaccines and antiretroviral and other life13 saving medical drugs, as well as for the operation of 

14 modern lifesaving medical equipment. 

15 (7) Access to power can also provide improved 

16 information and communication technologies that 

17 can greatly improve health and education outcomes, 

18 as well as economic and commercial opportunities. 

19 (8) In 2000, only 43 percent of the population 

20 of India had access to power. That percentage more 

21 than doubled between 2000 and 2020, with approxi22 mately 700,000,000 people in India gaining access 

23 to electricity during that period. 


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1 (9) Prime Minister Narendra Modi has 

2 prioritized improving citizen access to electricity and 

3 electrifying every household in India. 

4 (10) The Power for All initiative of the Govern5 ment of India aims to provide electricity to all 

6 households in India 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. 

7 (11) Without action, climate change threatens 

8 to push millions more people into poverty. Invest9 ments in clean energy offer an opportunity to curb 

10 climate change while combatting poverty and in11 creasing capacity to respond to the impacts of cli12 mate change. 

13 (12) As of June 2020, coal makes up the larg14 est domestic source of energy supply and electricity 

15 generation for India. In October 2020, the Ministry 

16 of New and Renewable Energy reported that renew17 able energy comprises approximately 12 percent of 

18 energy generation in India. 

19 (13) India imports 80 percent of its oil needs, 

20 and that amount is projected to increase in the com21 ing decades due to aging oil fields and a lack of new 

22 oil discoveries in India. India is increasing its oil re23 fining capacity to maintain supply to meet the rising 

24 domestic demand for energy. 


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1 (14) India is projected to surpass the People’s 

2 Republic of China in oil consumption by 2030. 

3 (15) On September 22, 2020, the People’s Re4 public of China announced a pledge to achieve net 

5 zero carbon emissions by 2060 in its updated Na6 tionally Determined Contribution to the Paris Agree7 ment, done at Paris December 12, 2015, but given 

8 the need to accelerate the reduction of global emis9 sions along a 2050 timeline, that pledge is insuffi10 cient to avoid an increase of 2 degrees Celsius in the 

11 global average temperature. 

12 (16) India, in contrast, is demonstrating that 

13 climate action is a priority through concrete steps 

14 including a climate plan compatible with the goal of 

15 limiting global average temperature rise below 2 de16 grees Celsius. 

17 (17) India’s unconditional emissions target, as 

18 outlined in the Intended Nationally Determined Con19 tribution of India to the Paris Agreement, aims to 

20 reduce emissions intensity of gross domestic product 

21 by 33 percent to 35 percent below 2005 levels by 

22 2030. 

23 (18) In its Intended Nationally Determined 

24 Contribution, India has also pledged to increase the 

25 share of its installed electricity capacity that comes 


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1 from non-fossil fuel sources to 40 percent by 2030 

2 and create an additional 2,500,000,000 to 

3 3,000,000,000 tons of carbon sinks. 

4 (19) In 2019, Prime Minister Modi announced 

5 an ambitious domestic target of installing 450 

6 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity by 2030. 

7 (20) India is among the top 5 clean energy pro8 ducers globally. Installed electricity capacity from re9 newables in India grew by 144 percent from 2014 to 

10 2020, and between 2014 and 2019 there was ap11 proximately $42,000,000,000 in investment in the 

12 renewable energy sector in India. 

13 (21) Numerous global funds, private equity 

14 firms, and multilateral finance institutions are con15 tinuing to invest billions of dollars in the growing re16 newable energy sector in India. 

17 (22) India leads the International Solar Alli18 ance, a 75-country initiative to which the United 

19 States does not yet belong, to mobilize 

20 $1,000,000,000,000 in solar energy investment by 

21 2030. 

22 (23) Increased ownership of appliances and 

23 cooling needs could lead to a doubling or even tri24 pling of energy use in India by 2040. One billion air 


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1 conditioning units are expected to be in use in India 

2 by 2050. 

3 (24) Under the Kigali Amendment to the Mon4 treal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone 

5 Layer, done at Montreal September 16, 1987, India 

6 has agreed to freeze its manufacturing and con7 sumption of hydrofluorocarbons in 2028. 

8 (25) In 2005, the United States and India es9 tablished a formal energy cooperation dialogue, the 

10 United States-India Energy Dialogue, which in11 cluded engagement on clean, low carbon tech12 nologies. In 2009, the United States and India ex13 panded the United States-India Energy Dialogue to 

14 advance clean and sustainable energy development. 

15 The expansion in 2009 included the Partnership to 

16 Advance Clean Energy initiative focusing on re17 search into, deployment of, and access to clean en18 ergy. 

19 (26) The Partnership to Advance Clean Energy 

20 Research element of the Partnership to Advance 

21 Clean Energy initiative, commonly referred to as 

22 ‘‘PACE–R’’, consists of research consortia under the 

23 Joint Clean Energy Research and Development Cen24 ter launched in 2010 by the Department of Energy 

25 and the Government of India with support from the 


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1 private sector. PACE–R has focused on solar power, 

2 advanced biofuels, energy efficiency in buildings, and 

3 smart grids and energy storage. 

4 (27) The Partnership to Advance Clean Energy 

5 Deployment element of the Partnership to Advance 

6 Clean Energy initiative, commonly referred to as 

7 ‘‘PACE–D’’, funds programs to improve energy effi8 ciency, grid connectivity, clean energy finance, and 

9 more. 

10 (28) The Partnership to Advance Clean Energy 

11 Access element of the Partnership to Advance Clean 

12 Energy initiative, commonly referred to as 

13 ‘‘PEACE’’, has focused on finance and technology 

14 innovation, skills development, and ecosystem 

15 strengthening for clean energy. 

16 (29) In 2015, the United States and India 

17 launched the U.S.-India Clean Energy Finance Task 

18 Force, which draws on the finance expertise of the 

19 governments and private sectors of both countries to 

20 tailor business and finance models to scale India’s 

21 clean energy sector. 

22 (30) Since 2015, the United States has sup23 ported the Partnership for Climate Resilience, which 

24 links United States Government climate scientists 


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1 with their counterparts in India to produce climate 

2 data and information to inform local decisionmakers. 

3 (31) In 2018, the United States Government 

4 established the Asia Enhancing Development and 

5 Growth through Energy initiative, commonly re6 ferred to as ‘‘Asia EDGE’’, to support sustainable 

7 and secure energy markets throughout the Indo-Pa8 cific. Asia EDGE integrates elements of the Part9 nership to Advance Clean Energy initiative along 

10 with new programs such as the South Asia Group 

11 for Energy. 

12 (32) In 2018, the governments of India and the 

13 United States elevated the energy partnership to the 

14 U.S.-India Strategic Energy Partnership to advance 

15 energy security, expand energy innovation, and in16 crease stakeholder engagement. That partnership in17 cluded pillars of cooperation on power and energy ef18 ficiency, renewable energy, sustainable growth, and 

19 oil and gas. The governments of India and the 

20 United States also continued clean energy research 

21 and development under the Partnership to Advance 

22 Clean Energy Research. 

23 (33) In 2021, the United States Government, 

24 through the United States Agency for International 

25 Development, awarded approximately $9,200,000 to 


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1 support the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infra2 structure, which the Government of India launched 

3 in September 2019 at the United Nations Climate 

4 Action Summit. 

5 (34) In 2021, at the Leaders Summit on Cli6 mate, the United States and India launched the 

7 U.S.-India Climate and Clean Energy Agenda 2030 

8 Partnership to mobilize finance toward and accel9 erate clean energy deployment, demonstrate and 

10 scale innovative clean technologies, and build capac11 ity to measure, manage, and adapt to the risks of 

12 climate-related impacts. The Partnership has two 

13 main tracks, the Strategic Clean Energy Partnership 

14 (led by the Department of Energy) and the Climate 

15 Action and Finance Mobilization Dialogue (led by 

16 the Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Cli17 mate), which build on and subsume previous, afore18 mentioned processes. 

19 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

20 In this Act: 

21 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis22 trator’’ means the Administrator of the United 

23 States Agency for International Development. 


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1 (2) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT2 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com3 mittees’’ means— 

4 (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations 

5 and the Committee on Energy and Natural Re6 sources of the Senate; and 

7 (B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and 

8 the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the 

9 House of Representatives. 

10 (3) CLEAN ENERGY TECHNOLOGY.—The term 

11 ‘‘clean energy technology’’ means a technology re12 lated to the production, use, transmission and dis13 tribution, storage, control, or conservation of energy 

14 that will contribute to the stabilization of the climate 

15 by reducing greenhouse gas emissions or seques16 tering or using carbon dioxide and— 

17 (A) reduces the need for additional energy 

18 supplies by using existing energy supplies with 

19 greater efficiency; or 

20 (B) increases and diversifies the sources of 

21 energy in a manner that will— 

22 (i) reduce risk to human health, safe23 ty, and welfare and the environment; and 

24 (ii) strengthen energy security. 


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1 (4) SECRETARY.—Except as otherwise specifi2 cally provided, the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Sec3 retary of State. 

4 SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON CLIMATE AND CLEAN EN5 ERGY COOPERATION WITH INDIA. 

6 It is the sense of Congress that— 

7 (1) robust cooperation on the development and 

8 deployment of clean energy technologies should be a 

9 priority in relations between the United States and 

10 India and the top priority in the countries’ energy 

11 diplomacy; 

12 (2) the collaboration of the United States and 

13 India on the development and deployment of clean 

14 energy technologies has resulted in innovative new 

15 technologies that have helped significantly lower the 

16 carbon emissions of the power sector in India; 

17 (3) demand for energy in India will increase 

18 with the expansion of the economy and middle class 

19 of India, and it is in the interest of United States 

20 national security and global security for the United 

21 States to support India in growing the energy sector 

22 of India in environmentally and socially responsible 

23 ways that mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and 

24 improve the climate and energy security of India; 


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1 (4) the United States and India should continue 

2 collaborating on research and development of new 

3 clean energy technologies, as well as deployment of 

4 clean energy technologies, so people across India can 

5 access power generated from clean energy tech6 nologies and to help decarbonize India’s entire en7 ergy sector; 

8 (5) the United States, through the Bureau of 

9 Energy Resources of the Department of State, the 

10 United States International Development Finance 

11 Corporation, the Department of Energy, the Export12 Import Bank of the United States, the International 

13 Trade Administration, and the United States Agency 

14 for International Development, should encourage 

15 private sector investment in and financing for the 

16 development and deployment of clean energy tech17 nologies in India; 

18 (6) the United States should support the Power 

19 for All initiative created by the Government of India 

20 through technical and other forms of assistance; 

21 (7) the United States should support the ambi22 tious renewable energy generation goals set by the 

23 Government of India through technical and other 

24 forms of assistance; 


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1 (8) Mission Innovation, in which India plays a 

2 critical leadership role, represents an unmatched op3 portunity to make clean energy technologies more af4 fordable and accessible by increasing funding for 

5 clean energy innovation; 

6 (9) the United States should increase its par7 ticipation in and contributions to Mission Innova8 tion; 

9 (10) the International Solar Alliance led by 

10 India will play a key role in mobilizing significant 

11 international investment in solar energy; 

12 (11) the United States should join and con13 tribute to the International Solar Alliance led by 

14 India; 

15 (12) India has implemented several new policies 

16 to promote the production and use of electric vehi17 cles in India; 

18 (13) the United States should promote re19 search, development, and private sector cooperation 

20 with India on the production of electric vehicles and 

21 the planning and execution of an expansive charging 

22 station network to support extensive use of electric 

23 vehicles; 

24 (14) increased demand for refrigeration and air 

25 conditioning in India, and the adoption of the Kigali 


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1 Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, done at Mon2 treal September 16, 1987, are driving innovation 

3 and investments in next-generation refrigeration 

4 equipment and refrigerants in India; and 

5 (15) enhanced United States-India bilateral co6 operation and engagement on the development of 

7 technologies and chemicals that are compliant with 

8 the Kigali Amendment are in the interest of United 

9 States industry leaders in the refrigeration and 

10 chemical coolant industries. 

11 SEC. 5. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

12 It is the policy of the United States to increase en13 gagement and cooperation with the Government of India, 

14 the Indian diaspora community in the United States, and 

15 the private sector and civil society in both the United 

16 States and India in a concerted effort— 

17 (1) to support the ambitious goals of India— 

18 (A) to expand renewable energy production 

19 and the optimal integration of renewable energy 

20 into a flexible, resilient electrical grid in India; 

21 and 

22 (B) to provide reliable and affordable ac23 cess to electricity for all communities; 


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1 (2) to help improve the energy security of India 

2 and decrease the dependence of India on imported 

3 fossil fuels; 

4 (3) to foster innovation through academic and 

5 research partnerships and mutually beneficial ar6 rangements relating to technology transfers and pro7 tection of intellectual property; 

8 (4) to facilitate United States private sector in9 vestment in projects to expand power transmission 

10 and distribution capacity, energy storage, and terri11 torial coverage in India to increase the number of 

12 people, households, and communities with access to 

13 power; 

14 (5) to provide technical assistance and advice as 

15 appropriate, and solely at the request and with the 

16 consent of the relevant national and local authorities 

17 and stakeholders, on— 

18 (A) reforms of power production, delivery, 

19 and pricing; 

20 (B) reducing aggregate technical and com21 mercial energy losses in India’s energy trans22 mission and distribution systems; 

23 (C) regulatory reforms; and 

24 (D) long-term, market-based power genera25 tion and distribution; 


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1 (6) to support efforts to lower India’s green2 house gas emissions and increase adaptive capacity 

3 by promoting United States private investment in— 

4 (A) renewable energy production; 

5 (B) electric vehicle technology; 

6 (C) energy efficiency in appliances, build7 ings, and the industrial sector; 

8 (D) technologies to decarbonize the indus9 trial and transport sectors in which emissions 

10 are hard to abate; 

11 (E) technologies and infrastructure modi12 fications to improve the efficiency and resilience 

13 of existing electricity generation units; and 

14 (F) electricity transmission and distribu15 tion projects to improve— 

16 (i) the affordability of electricity; 

17 (ii) grid reliability, efficiency, flexi18 bility, digitalization, and resilience to cli19 mate impacts; 

20 (iii) the number of citizens and house21 holds with access to electricity; 

22 (iv) rural electrification; and 

23 (v) electric vehicle charging infra24 structure; and 


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1 (7) to strengthen India’s resilience capacities 

2 that ensure people, households, communities, institu3 tions, and systems can assess, anticipate, reduce, 

4 adapt to, respond to, and recover from shocks and 

5 stresses associated with the effects of climate 

6 change. 

7 SEC. 6. PURPOSES. 

8 The purposes of this Act are— 

9 (1) to advance cooperation between the United 

10 States and India on, and private sector engagement 

11 and investment in, the development and deployment 

12 of clean energy technologies, and improvement in the 

13 planning, reliability, flexibility, and resilience of In14 dia’s electrical grid to integrate increasing use of re15 newable energy; 

16 (2) to improve research collaborations that de17 velop and deploy innovative clean energy tech18 nologies in India; 

19 (3) to enhance citizen access to electricity 

20 across India; and 

21 (4) to build capacity to measure, manage, and 

22 adapt to the risks of climate-related impacts. 


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1 SEC. 7. ESTABLISHMENT OF UNITED STATES-INDIA CLI2 MATE AND CLEAN ENERGY PARTNERSHIP. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The purposes described in section 

4 6 shall be advanced through the development and execu5 tion of bilateral initiatives under an initiative to be known 

6 as the ‘‘United States-India Climate and Clean Energy 

7 Agenda 2030 Partnership’’ (in this Act referred to as the 

8 ‘‘United States-India Climate and Clean Energy Partner9 ship’’). 

10 (b) FUNCTIONS.—The United States-India Climate 

11 and Clean Energy Partnership shall serve as— 

12 (1) the primary forum for cooperation between 

13 the United States and India on clean energy tech14 nologies; and 

15 (2) the mechanism through which such coopera16 tion is funded. 

17 SEC. 8. STRATEGY FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF THE UNITED 

18 STATES-INDIA CLIMATE AND CLEAN ENERGY 

19 PARTNERSHIP. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 days after the 

21 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in con22 sultation with the Administrator and the Secretary of En23 ergy, shall submit to the appropriate congressional com24 mittees a comprehensive, integrated, multi-year strategy 

25 for implementing the United States-India Climate and 

26 Clean Energy Partnership. 


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1 (b) FLEXIBILITY AND RESPONSIVENESS.—The strat2 egy required by subsection (a) shall maintain sufficient 

3 flexibility and responsiveness to technological innovation 

4 with respect to climate and clean energy in India. 

5 (c) ELEMENTS.—The strategy required by subsection 

6 (a) shall include— 

7 (1) a general description, developed in collabo8 ration with the Government of India and local and 

9 regional authorities in India, of the goals and ongo10 ing efforts in India— 

11 (A) to increase power production; 

12 (B) to build and maintain climate resilient 

13 electrical transmission and distribution infra14 structure; 

15 (C) to expand electrical transmission and 

16 distribution infrastructure in order to provide 

17 equitable household and community access to 

18 electricity; 

19 (D) to implement regulatory reform, re20 gional interoperability, and transparent and ac21 countable governance and oversight; 

22 (E) to strengthen the reliability and re23 gional interoperability of the electrical grid; and 

24 (F) for electricity service providers— 


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1 (i) to provide affordable and reliable 

2 power; 

3 (ii) to reduce technical and nontech4 nical losses; 

5 (iii) to collect fees for services; and 

6 (iv) to expand service to underserved 

7 communities; 

8 (G) to advance energy efficiency in appli9 ances, buildings, and the industrial sector; and 

10 (H) to advance decarbonization across the 

11 energy sector of India, including in transport 

12 and heavy industry; 

13 (2) an assessment of how the initiatives in14 cluded in the United States-India Climate and Clean 

15 Energy Partnership will support achievement of the 

16 clean energy and expanded energy access goals of 

17 India, including— 

18 (A) an analysis of— 

19 (i) the flexibility and carrying capacity 

20 of India’s electrical grid to better integrate 

21 renewable energy generation; and 

22 (ii) the state of distributed renewable 

23 energy in India; 

24 (B) a description of market barriers to the 

25 deployment of clean energy technologies, includVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:25 Sep 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00021 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2719.IS S2719

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1 ing distributed renewable energy technologies 

2 both on- and off-grid in India; 

3 (C) an analysis of the efficacy of efforts by 

4 the Department of State, the Office of the 

5 United States Trade Representative, the United 

6 States International Development Finance Cor7 poration, and the United States Agency for 

8 International Development to facilitate the fi9 nancing of the deployment, importation, dis10 tribution, sale, leasing, or marketing of clean 

11 energy technologies in India; and 

12 (D) a description of how bolstering distrib13 uted renewable energy can enhance the overall 

14 effort to increase power access in India; 

15 (3) a description of programs or initiatives in 

16 existence as of the date of the submittal of the strat17 egy that— 

18 (A) meet the requirements for initiatives 

19 under sections 9 through 11; and 

20 (B) can be integrated into the United 

21 States-India Climate and Clean Energy Part22 nership; 

23 (4) a list of programs in existence as of the 

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1 tegrated into the United States-India Climate and 

2 Clean Energy Partnership; 

3 (5) recommendations on the establishment of 

4 any new programs to meet the requirements for ini5 tiatives under sections 9 through 11; and 

6 (6) a plan describing which parts of the United 

7 States Government shall serve as the lead for which 

8 components of the United States-India Climate and 

9 Clean Energy Partnership. 

10 SEC. 9. PARTNERSHIPS FOR COOPERATION ON RESEARCH 

11 AND INNOVATION FOR CLEAN ENERGY TECH12 NOLOGIES. 

13 (a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is— 

14 (1) to promote and accelerate the pace of inno15 vation and deployment of clean energy technologies; 

16 (2) to expand community and household access 

17 to power in India; and 

18 (3) to facilitate demonstration projects of new, 

19 innovative clean energy technologies. 

20 (b) RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PARTNER21 SHIPS.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in coordina23 tion with the Administrator and the Secretary of 

24 Energy, and with the cooperation of the Government 

25 of India, shall promote partnerships between United 


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1 States clean energy centers of excellence designated 

2 under paragraph (4) and partner entities in India 

3 described in paragraph (5) on research, develop4 ment, demonstration, and commercial application of 

5 clean energy technologies. 

6 (2) EXCHANGES; SHARING.—The partnerships 

7 described in paragraph (1) shall include— 

8 (A) exchanges between United States clean 

9 energy centers of excellence designated under 

10 paragraph (4) and partner entities in India de11 scribed in paragraph (5); and 

12 (B) lawful sharing of intellectual property 

13 between the United States and India, including 

14 between private sector entities in the two coun15 tries, with respect to— 

16 (i) clean energy technology, including 

17 carbon capture technologies; 

18 (ii) air conditioning technology; and 

19 (iii) refrigeration systems technology. 

20 (3) FUNCTIONS.—United States clean energy 

21 centers of excellence designated under paragraph 

22 (4), in collaboration with partner entities in India 

23 described in paragraph (5), shall be responsible 

24 for— 


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1 (A) assessing different potential techno2 logical, development, policy, and technical solu3 tions to address capacity constraints affecting 

4 the development and deployment of existing and 

5 emerging energy technology in India, consistent 

6 with the lawful sharing of intellectual property 

7 described in paragraph (2)(B); 

8 (B) facilitating engagements between en9 ergy authorities in India and private sector 

10 clean energy technology suppliers and project 

11 developers that could provide solutions to en12 ergy capacity challenges; 

13 (C) ensuring that local stakeholders and 

14 host communities in India where energy 

15 projects supported by partnerships under this 

16 section are being developed are adequately en17 gaged and given due consideration in the devel18 opment of such projects; 

19 (D) arranging for the appropriate and law20 ful sharing of prototyping, technology transfer 

21 activities, and production facilities for clean en22 ergy technologies, including assistance to clean 

23 energy technology start-up ventures; 


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1 (E) promoting job training opportunities in 

2 the deployment and operation of clean energy 

3 technologies and energy transmission; and 

4 (F) performing such other duties as deter5 mined by the Secretary in coordination with the 

6 Secretary of Energy. 

7 (4) UNITED STATES CLEAN ENERGY CENTERS

8 OF EXCELLENCE.— 

9 (A) DESIGNATION.— 

10 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in 

11 consultation with the Secretary of Energy, 

12 shall designate not more than 10 eligible 

13 entities to be United States clean energy 

14 centers of excellence. 

(ii) LIMITATION.—Not more than 1 15 ⁄3

16 of the total number of eligible entities des17 ignated under clause (i) may be National 

18 Laboratories. 

19 (B) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—For purposes of 

20 this section, an ‘‘eligible entity’’ is— 

21 (i) an institution of higher education; 

22 or 

23 (ii) a National Laboratory. 

24 (C) APPLICATIONS BY INSTITUTIONS OF

25 HIGHER EDUCATION.—An institution of higher 


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1 education seeking designation as a United 

2 States clean energy center of excellence under 

3 this paragraph shall submit an application to 

4 the Secretary containing, at a minimum, the 

5 following: 

6 (i) A description of all entities within 

7 the institution that would comprise the 

8 United States clean energy center of excel9 lence (in this subparagraph referred to as 

10 ‘‘component entities’’). 

11 (ii) Any appropriate information on 

12 the qualifications of individuals in key 

13 management positions in the institution 

14 and the component entities. 

15 (iii) A full description of the govern16 ance structure and management processes 

17 of the institution and the component enti18 ties, including a conflict of interest policy. 

19 (iv) A description of the policies and 

20 procedures of the institution and the com21 ponent entities for managing new intellec22 tual property created by a partnership 

23 under this section. 


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1 (v) A description of how the institu2 tion would carry out the functions de3 scribed in paragraph (3). 

4 (vi) Recommendations on— 

5 (I) the scope of work for the ini6 tial year of activities of the institution 

7 under the United States-India Climate 

8 and Clean Energy Partnership; and 

9 (II) focuses for future program10 ming. 

11 (D) SELECTION PROCESS.—The Secretary, 

12 in coordination with the Secretary of Energy, 

13 shall select eligible entities for designation as 

14 United States clean energy centers of excellence 

15 under this paragraph through an open and 

16 competitive process. 

17 (E) SELECTION CRITERIA.—The Secretary, 

18 in coordination with the Secretary of Energy, 

19 shall establish criteria for selecting United 

20 States clean energy centers of excellence based 

21 on— 

22 (i) an evaluation of— 

23 (I) the strength of the govern24 ance structure of an eligible entity 

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1 tity that would comprise the United 

2 States clean energy center of excel3 lence; 

4 (II) the expertise and experience 

5 of key research management and aca6 demic personnel of an eligible entity; 

7 (III) the demonstrated knowledge 

8 of an eligible entity with respect to— 

9 (aa) energy markets in 

10 India; 

11 (bb) regulatory frameworks 

12 and energy policies in India; 

13 (cc) power service providers 

14 in India; 

15 (dd) applied energy tech16 nologies in India; and 

17 (ee) energy challenges, in18 cluding capacity constraints, in 

19 India; and 

20 (IV) the capability of an eligible 

21 entity to conduct regional energy mar22 ket analyses and assessments of the 

23 practicality of applying various clean 

24 energy technologies to address various 

25 energy challenges in India; 


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1 (ii) commitments of co-funding from 

2 non-Federal sources; 

3 (iii) the capability of an eligible entity 

4 to attract matching funds from both non5 Federal and nongovernmental sources for 

6 follow-on investments in widespread appli7 cation of successful projects; and 

8 (iv) the capability and experience of 

9 an eligible entity in managing technology 

10 transfer programs. 

11 (F) SELECTION PRIORITY.—The Secretary, 

12 in coordination with the Secretary of Energy, 

13 shall select eligible entities for designation as 

14 United States clean energy centers of excellence 

15 under this paragraph in a manner that rep16 resents the geographic diversity of the United 

17 States. 

18 (5) PARTNER INSTITUTIONS IN INDIA.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in con20 sultation with the Secretary of Energy, and in 

21 collaboration with the appropriate ministries of 

22 the Government of India, shall support the es23 tablishment of partnerships between United 

24 States clean energy centers of excellence desVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:25 Sep 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00030 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2719.IS S2719

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1 ignated under paragraph (4) and partner enti2 ties in India. 

3 (B) ELIGIBILITY AND SELECTION.—The 

4 Secretary shall encourage the Government of 

5 India to select partner entities described in sub6 paragraph (A) for participation in partnerships 

7 under this section based on criteria similar to 

8 the criteria for eligibility and selection of 

9 United States clean energy centers of excellence 

10 described in paragraph (4). 

11 (C) PAIRING.—The Secretary, in consulta12 tion with the Secretary of Energy, and in col13 laboration with the relevant ministries of the 

14 Government of India, shall pair selected United 

15 States clean energy centers of excellence des16 ignated under paragraph (4) and partner enti17 ties in India according to the strength and simi18 larities of the respective applications. 

19 (6) PRIVATE SECTOR INVOLVEMENT.—United 

20 States clean energy centers of excellence partici21 pating in partnerships under this section are encour22 aged to, in collaboration with their respective part23 ner entities in India under paragraph (5)— 

24 (A) collaborate with private sector energy 

25 and technology companies; and 


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1 (B) identify private sector entities that will 

2 contribute resources to the initiatives and 

3 projects developed through partnerships under 

4 this section. 

5 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

6 (1) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

7 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 

8 meaning given that term in section 101(a) of the 

9 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)). 

10 (2) NATIONAL LABORATORY.—The term ‘‘Na11 tional Laboratory’’ has the meaning given that term 

12 in section 2 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

13 U.S.C. 15801). 

14 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be 

16 appropriated $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

17 2022 through 2026 for the Joint Clean Energy Re18 search and Development Center established by the 

19 Department of Energy and the Government of India. 

20 (2) USE OF FUNDS.—Amounts authorized to be 

21 appropriated under paragraph (1) may be used only 

22 for clean energy projects. 

23 (e) UNITED STATES-INDIA CLIMATE AND CLEAN EN24 ERGY PARTNERSHIP.—All initiatives established or con25 tinued under the authorities of this section shall be part 


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1 of the United States-India Climate and Clean Energy 

2 Partnership. 

3 SEC. 10. INITIATIVES FOR TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR 

4 GRID IMPROVEMENT AND ENERGY EFFI5 CIENCY IN INDIA. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consultation 

7 with the Administrator and the Secretary of Energy, and 

8 with the cooperation of the Government of India and re9 gional authorities within India, shall support initiatives, 

10 including new initiatives and initiatives in existence as of 

11 the date of the enactment of this Act, as appropriate, to 

12 provide technical assistance and expertise on electrical 

13 grid and energy efficiency improvements in India for the 

14 following purposes: 

15 (1) Expanding and improving the reliability, 

16 flexibility, and resilience of the electrical grid to 

17 reach all regions and populations. 

18 (2) Developing microgrids or distributed energy 

19 resources in areas in which connection to the larger 

20 electrical grid is challenging. 

21 (3) Increasing the optimal integration of renew22 able energy into the electrical grid. 

23 (4) Enhancing the interconnectivity of electrical 

24 grids across States of India. 


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1 (5) Boosting the energy storage capacity of the 

2 electrical grid. 

3 (6) Developing standards for clean energy tech4 nologies, smart buildings, and data centers. 

5 (7) Increasing deployment of smart meters and 

6 other energy efficiency technology. 

7 (8) Increasing the energy efficiency of build8 ings, appliances, and the industrial sector. 

9 (9) Improving pollution controls and the effi10 ciency of fossil fuel electric generating units. 

11 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

12 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 

13 necessary to carry out this section. 

14 (c) UNITED STATES-INDIA CLIMATE AND CLEAN EN15 ERGY PARTNERSHIP.—All initiatives established or con16 tinued under the authorities of this section shall be part 

17 of the United States-India Climate and Clean Energy 

18 Partnership. 

19 SEC. 11. INITIATIVES FOR GENERATION OF NEW RENEW20 ABLE ENERGY IN INDIA. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in coordination 

22 with the Administrator and the Secretary of Energy, and 

23 with the approval of the Government of India, shall sup24 port initiatives, including new initiatives and initiatives in 

25 existence as of the date of the enactment of this Act, as 


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1 appropriate, to develop new renewable energy generation 

2 capacity in India. 

3 (b) SELECTION OF INITIATIVES.—In selecting initia4 tives to support under subsection (a), the Secretary, in 

5 consultation with the Secretary of Energy, and in coordi6 nation with the Administrator, shall take into account the 

7 priorities of the Government of India, including such gov8 ernment’s target of installing 450 gigawatts of renewable 

9 energy capacity by 2030 and related goals established by 

10 the Intended Nationally Determined Contribution of India 

11 to the Paris Agreement, done at Paris December 12, 

12 2015. 

13 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

14 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 

15 necessary to carry out this section. 

16 (d) UNITED STATES-INDIA CLIMATE AND CLEAN

17 ENERGY PARTNERSHIP.—All initiatives established or 

18 continued under the authorities of this section shall be 

19 part of the United States-India Climate and Clean Energy 

20 Partnership. 

21 SEC. 12. REPORT ON PROMOTION OF STATE-STATE CLEAN 

22 ENERGY COOPERATION. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

24 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in coordi25 nation with the Administrator and the Secretary of EnVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:38 Sep 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00035 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2719.IS S2719

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1 ergy, shall submit to the appropriate congressional com2 mittees a report on the prospects for cooperation between 

3 States of the United States and States of India on clean 

4 energy. 

5 (b) ELEMENTS.—The report required by subsection 

6 (a) shall include— 

7 (1) an assessment of which areas have the most 

8 potential for cooperation between States of the 

9 United States and States of India on clean energy 

10 technologies, including with respect to— 

11 (A) integrating clean energy into State 

12 electrical grids; 

13 (B) improving the efficiency of State elec14 trical grids; 

15 (C) increasing the resiliency of State elec16 trical grids, especially against cyber attacks; 

17 (D) improving power transmission and dis18 tribution within States; 

19 (E) enabling expanded use of electric vehi20 cles; 

21 (F) increasing energy efficiency of build22 ings and methods of transportation; and 

23 (G) demonstration projects of new clean 

24 energy technologies, including in industrial sec25 tors that are hard to decarbonize; 


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1 (2) an analysis of potential opportunities for co2 operation between States of the United States and 

3 States of India on the development and deployment 

4 of clean energy resources through— 

5 (A) Federal Government programs in ex6 istence as of the date of the submittal of the re7 port that provide financial support, technical 

8 assistance, or other support for subnational co9 operation; or 

10 (B) any Federal Government forums in ex11 istence as of such date to promote subnational 

12 communication; and 

13 (3) recommendations for steps the Federal Gov14 ernment, with the cooperation of the Government of 

15 India, can take to promote cooperation between 

16 States of the United States and States of India on 

17 clean energy, which shall include recommendations 

18 on— 

19 (A) which programs or forums in existence 

20 as of the date of the submittal of the report 

21 should be used to promote such cooperation; 

22 (B) new programs or forums that could be 

23 created to promote such cooperation, and 

24 whether the creation of those programs requires 

25 additional authorities; 


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1 (C) what agencies or offices within the 

2 Federal Government should lead the implemen3 tation of each recommended program or forum; 

4 (D) what additional funding would be 

5 needed to implement each recommended pro6 gram or forum; and 

7 (E) what role the United States mission to 

8 India should play in promoting such coopera9 tion. 

10 SEC. 13. UNITED STATES-INDIA CLIMATE CHANGE RISK RE11 DUCTION AND RESILIENCE COOPERATION. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, under the di13 rection of the Secretary, shall work cooperatively with the 

14 Government of India on integrating scientifically sup15 ported climate change risk reduction and building resil16 ience capacities in India. 

17 (b) PRIORITY.—Advancing the risk reduction and re18 silience capacities described in subsection (a) shall be a 

19 priority for United States diplomatic, security, and devel20 opment programs within the United States mission to 

21 India. 

22 (c) SUPPORT.—The Administrator, under the direc23 tion of the Secretary, and in coordination with other agen24 cies with direct international development programs and 

25 investments, shall support efforts— 


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1 (1) to bolster resilience capacities to the effects 

2 of climate change in India by supporting efforts in 

3 India to help ensure that climate risk assessments 

4 and security planning in India adequately evaluate 

5 and account for risks and vulnerabilities associated 

6 with the effects of climate change using best-avail7 able climate change data, forecasts, tools, and infor8 mation; 

9 (2) to use shared knowledge, data, forecasts, 

10 tools, information, frameworks, and lessons learned 

11 in incorporating climate change resilience program12 ming, planning, projects, investments, and related 

13 funding decisions; and 

14 (3) to work with civil society and local leaders, 

15 as appropriate— 

16 (A) to identify risks associated with the ef17 fects of climate change in India; and 

18 (B) to encourage and support efforts in 

19 India to enhance resilience to the effects of cli20 mate change. 

21 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

22 (1) AGENCIES WITH DIRECT INTERNATIONAL

23 DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS AND INVESTMENTS.—The 

24 term ‘‘agencies with direct international development 

25 programs and investments’’ includes— 


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1 (A) the Department of State; 

2 (B) the Department of Agriculture; 

3 (C) the Department of the Interior; 

4 (D) the United States Agency for Inter5 national Development; 

6 (E) the Millennium Challenge Corporation; 

7 (F) the United States International Devel8 opment Finance Corporation; and 

9 (G) the Trade and Development Agency. 

10 (2) RESILIENCE.—The term ‘‘resilience’’ means 

11 the ability of an individual, household, community, 

12 country, or region to withstand, adapt to, and quick13 ly recover from shocks and stresses associated with 

14 the effects of climate change. 

Æ 


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