US energy secretary maps out China collaboration

U.S. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz said in Beijing on Wednesday that the United States and China can collaborate on renewable technology for green growth and that water-based technology can be a new focus area for partnership. Moniz, who is making a three-day visit to China, had meetings with Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli and other officials, and members of the industry and science-tech communities and delivered a speech at the prestigious Tsinghua University. The meetings reinforced the view that China and the United States are both committed to a clean energy future, a commitment that will play a central role in U.S.-China collaboration at the government level and in the commercial sector, Moniz said at a press briefing at the U.S. Embassy. There is a mindset that renewable technologies are always five to 10 years in the future. However, they have gained market share and it is time for a clean technology revolution, he said, naming water-based clean technologies, such as tidal, wave and hydro power systems as a potential new form of collaboration in the context of extended U.S.-China energy research. President Barack Obama's climate action plan covers area from shale gas, nuclear and clean energy to efficiency, stressed Moniz. He cited the nuclear sector as a field where the two sides have cooperation and both have the intention to cooperate with third party countries. "Safety and security are a critical element if the nuclear sector is in fact to be robust in our countries and other countries," according to the energy secretary, who described the two countries' commitment in this regard as "clear." During Moniz's visit, construction on a nuclear security center jointly financed by China and the United States began in Beijing on Tuesday. The center, located in the Changyang science and technology park in the southwestern outskirts of Beijing, will be equipped with environmental labs, response force exercise facilities, test sites for physical protection, and buildings for technology displays and training, experiments and scientific research. Moniz also talked up the growing role of shale gas in clean energy. "Shale gas production continues to increase robustly. It has gone from nothing to approximately 40 percent of our national gas supply in just a five-year period, and we have again become the largest natural gas producer," he told the press briefing. Both the United States and China have "strong interest" in shale gas development cooperation. Moniz pointed out that the United States not only has favorable geology, but also by far the most mature natural gas infrastructure, in terms of pipelines, market structures, trading hubs and future contracts. "All these issues must come together to see China develop the resources at a large scale and in a rapid fashion," he added. Asked if the United States will export gas to China, Moniz said the country itself doesn't determine the destinations. "Those are purely commercial interests. So whether it's Japan, India, China or Europe, the entities in those countries negotiate contracts with those to whom we give the licenses."