Fact sheet: U.S.-China Clean Energy Research Center November 17, 2009

For other articles and documents on green energy, click here.

President Barack Obama and President Hu Jintao today announced the establishment of the U.S.-China Clean Energy Research Center. The Protocol formally establishing the Center was signed at ceremonies in Beijing by U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Chinese Minister of Science and Technology Wan Gang, and Chinese National Energy Agency Administrator Zhang Guobao

The U.S.-China Clean Energy Research Center will facilitate joint research and development of clean energy technologies by teams of scientists and engineers from the United States and China, as well as serve as a clearinghouse to help researchers in each country. Initial research priorities of the Center will be:

• building energy efficiency,
• clean coal including carbon capture and storage, and
• clean vehicles.

The Center will be supported by public and private funding of at least $150 million over five years, split evenly between the two countries.

As part of this announcement, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today released a Request For Information soliciting public input on the structure and design of U.S. portions of the U.S.-China Clean Energy Research Center (available at http://pi.energy.gov). DOE intends to issue a Funding Opportunity Announcement for the Center in January 2010, once public input is received and reviewed.

The United States and China are the world’s largest energy producers, energy consumers and greenhouse gas emitters. The clean energy sectors in both countries are growing rapidly. The initial priorities of the U.S.-China Clean Energy Research Center reflect important areas of opportunity for both countries. In the United States, for example, more than three-quarters of electricity generated is used to operate buildings. In China, if present trends continue, floor space equal to the entire U.S, building stock will be built in the next 20 years. Both countries have large domestic coal reserves and use coal to generate the majority of their electricity (roughly 50% in the US and 80% in China). The two countries are also the world’s largest automobile markets and oil consumers, both importing more than half the oil they consume. Development and deployment of clean energy technologies will play a central role in helping both countries meet energy and climate challenges in the years ahead.

Other articles and documents on green energy:

Green Energy Programs in China and the U.S. | US-China Study on CO2 Storage | China’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions | Strategy for Clean Air and Energy Cooperation between EPA and SEPA | U.S.-China Renewable Energy Partnership | U.S.-China Energy Efficiency Action Plan | U.S.-China Clean Energy Research Center | Politics and energy policy in post-Mao China | US-China Memorandum of Understanding to Enhance Cooperation on Climate Change, Energy, and the Environment | To Change the Mode of Development and Speed up the Restructuring of Energy Industry | Country Analysis Briefs: Taiwan | Country Analysis Briefs: China |  U.S.-China Energy Policy: Toward Closer International Partnerships | US Treasury Secretary Paulson on Energy and the Environment | China’s Energy Conditions and Policies | Sustainable Development in Asia: Coal, Oil, and Renewable Energy in China | 11th Five Year Plan on Energy Development | Engaging Developing Countries, House Committee on Energy and Commerce hearing | Carolyn Cartier | Richard Louis Edmonds | David Zweig |