Energy officials from China and the United States signed a
memorandum of understanding (MOU) this weekend to cooperate in
increasing energy efficiency in China's industrial sector, which
accounts for 70 percent of the country's energy demand.
Karen Harbert, assistant secretary for policy and international
affairs of the US Department of Energy (DOE), and Chen Deming,
vice-minister of the National Development and Reform Commission,
signed the agreement at a meeting in San Francisco, the China News
Service reported.
The MOU followed discussions this week at the third China-US
Energy Policy Dialogue, where the two sides agreed to jointly
conduct audits to increase national, regional and local energy
efficiency. Teams from each country will conduct joint audits of as
many as 12 facilities from "The Top 1,000 Energy Enterprises in
China".
"This agreement signifies the importance of our strategic energy
and economic cooperation with China," Harbert was quoted as
saying.
"As global energy use continues to rapidly increase, the US is
working to identify ways to increase industrial energy efficiency
both domestically and across the globe."
Harbert said the MOU could serve as a conduit for American
companies to export environment-friendly US-made equipment and
services to China.
"Our US industry has significant expertise and products that can
improve energy efficiency in China," she said.
The MOU signifies the intention of the two governments to
promote energy efficiency in energy-intensive factories, which will
reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the two officials said.
The DOE will provide tools to conduct the plant audits and train
factory personnel on plant auditing techniques.
The DOE will then conduct a comparison study of these Chinese
enterprises and US manufacturing plants to identify differences in
best practices.
The DOE intends to host training sessions in the United States
to familiarize Chinese officials with US laws, policies, procedures
and technologies and best practices involving energy use.
Demonstrations of efficient US-made boilers, fired heaters and
combined heat and power units will be part of the training.
The signing of the MOU is the latest addition to a series of
bilateral and multilateral partnerships aimed at increasing energy
efficiency, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and removing barriers
to private investment in clean energy technologies.
These partnerships include the US-China Strategic Economic
Dialogue, the US-China Oil and Gas Industry Forum, the Carbon
Sequestration Leadership Forum and the International Thermonuclear
Experimental Reactor.
The DOE does similar energy audits at home, working with US
businesses through a program called Save Energy Now Assessments to
assess energy use and devise strategies for savings.
Since 2006, DOE officials said, the agency has conducted 344
industrial energy assessments, identifying potential energy cost
savings of more than $585 million per year. The DOE said that when
these improvements are fully implemented, the greenhouse gas
emissions savings will be equivalent to removing nearly 850,000
vehicles from the road each year.
(China Daily September 17, 2007)
