[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 184 (Monday, September 24, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54240-54242]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 07-4681]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration


Clean Energy Trade Mission, China and India, January 8-17, 2008

AGENCY: International Trade Administration, Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The United States Department of Commerce is organizing a Clean 
Energy Trade Mission to China and India, January 8-17, 2008. The trade 
mission will target a broad range of clean energy technologies such as 
renewable energy, biofuels, energy efficiency, clean coal, and 
distributed generation, and be led by Assistant Secretary of Commerce 
David Bohigian.
    ITA seeks to match participating U.S. companies with prescreened 
partners, agents, distributors, representatives, licensees or retailers 
in each of these important sectors. In addition to one-on-one business 
meetings, the agenda will also include meetings with national and local 
government officials, networking opportunities, country briefings, and 
site visits.
    This mission builds on the first U.S. Clean Energy Technologies 
Trade Mission, which took place in April 2007 and brought 17 U.S. 
companies to China and India. The trade mission takes place within the 
context of both the President's new international framework on climate 
change, energy security, and economic growth involving the 15 major 
economies (the Global-15), as well as the Asia-Pacific Partnership on 
Clean Development and Climate (APP).
    On May 31, 2007, President Bush announced an effort to develop and 
implement the Global-15 framework by 2012, which would complement the 
current United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and 
advance the APP. The APP is a public-private partnership in which 
member countries work together to facilitate commercial deployment of 
technologies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and enhance energy 
security.

DATES: Recruitment will begin immediately and will close on November 5, 
2007. The Trade Mission will take place January 8-17, 2008.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Justin Rathke, U.S. Department of 
Commerce, E-mail: [email protected], Telephone: 202-482-
7916, Mission Web site: http://www.export.gov/cleanenergymission.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Commercial Setting

China

    To decrease its dependence on traditional fossil energy, China 
seeks to lower its share of fossil fuel consumption in its energy mix 
and increase its use of alternative energy sources over the next five 
years. Recently, China unveiled an energy strategy as part of its 
Eleventh Five-Year Plan (2006-2010). The plan aims to double the 
country's renewable energy supply by 2020.
    In another promising move, the Chinese Government passed the Law on 
Renewable Energy, which seeks to promote cleaner energy technologies 
and seeks to increase renewable energy to 10 percent of the country's 
electricity consumption by 2020 (up from roughly 3 percent in 2003). 
This law is partly responsible for the increase in new renewable energy 
projects, particularly in the areas of wind, solar, and biomass. 
Achieving the targets for wind energy alone (30 GW from 1.2 GW in 2005) 
will require $21-28 billion in investment. China invested $7 billion in 
renewable energy capacity in 2005.
    More recently, China announced its first national plan to address 
climate change. The plan calls for a 20 percent reduction in energy 
consumption per unit of GDP by 2010 while increasing the use of 
renewable energy. The Chinese Government specified wind, nuclear and 
hydropower, as well as more energy-efficient coal-fired plants, as the 
technology approaches that it would use to achieve the reductions.
    All these initiatives underscore China's intention to deploy 
cleaner and more efficient technologies. U.S. technology providers with 
accurate market information and a sound business strategy have the 
potential to take advantage of the growing Chinese clean energy market.
    Beijing: With a population of over 15 million, Beijing is China's 
largest city. Its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was $84 billion in 2005, 
an increase of 11.1% from the previous year. As the national capital, 
Beijing offers unparalleled access to Chinese policymakers. Since 
China's energy sector is regulated by the central government, 
interaction with these officials can be critical to a companies' 
success.
    There is also a strong local market for clean energy technologies 
in Beijing, due to its size, its political and economic importance, and 
the poor environmental conditions caused by development. Beijing is 
unique in China in that it has provincial status, which enables its 
municipal government to approve independent foreign investment projects 
up to a value of $30 million. This has positioned Beijing as an 
attractive location for foreign investment in China. The selection of 
the city as host of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games has spurred 
substantial government investment in projects that improve 
environmental quality.
    To facilitate trade and investment in clean energy technologies and 
help create commercial opportunities for mission participants, ITA is 
working with the Chinese Government to hold the first U.S.-China Clean 
Energy Technologies Industry Forum (CETIF). The creation of a U.S.-
China CETIF would establish an annual forum designed to establish 
dialogue between U.S. and Chinese industry and appropriate government 
representatives on a variety of energy and environmental trade, 
technology, and policy issues. This event is expected to take place on 
Wednesday, January 9, 2008, and is open to all mission participants.
    Guangzhou: Guangzhou is the economic center of the Pearl River 
Delta and is the heart of one of China's

[[Page 54241]]

leading commercial and manufacturing regions. With an estimated 
population of 12 million, Guangzhou is the third most populous 
metropolitan area in China. Its proximity to Hong Kong has provided the 
region with an influx of investment and fostered a Western business 
culture that has made Guangdong province one of the most developed 
provinces in the Pearl River Delta. In 2005, Guangdong's GDP rose to 
$278.9 billion, ranking first in the country and accounting for about 
10 percent of the national GDP. By the end of 2006, Guangdong had 
received $177.37 billion in total stock of foreign direct investment 
(FDI), representing one fourth of the national total, and accounted for 
40 percent of all international trade between China and other 
countries.
    The Pearl River Delta has experienced serious environmental 
problems due to its rapid industrialization and heavy manufacturing 
base. The Guangdong Government has budgeted 3 percent of its GDP for 
overall environmental spending during the Eleventh Five-Year Plan, more 
than $8 billion.
    Strong commercial prospects for Guangdong include energy efficiency 
and cleaner production technologies, combined heat and power, wind 
energy, solar energy, hydropower, biogas, and waste-to-energy. The 
Guangdong Government plans to spend $726 million between 2005 and 2010 
and $1.93 billion between 2010 and 2020 on wind power projects, and 
China's renewable energy law contains incentives to make wind power 
more cost competitive with coal-fired generation. The city of Guangzhou 
plans to treat 90 percent of its solid waste using waste-to-energy 
plants.
    Hong Kong: Hong Kong is affected by pollution from the mainland and 
particularly from Guangdong Province and the Pearl River Delta. The 
Pollution Prevention and Energy Efficiency (P2E2) environmental 
financing program is designed to address this issue and to develop 
business opportunities for U.S. companies. Through financial support 
from the Asian Development Bank, International Finance Corporation, and 
U.S. Export-Import Bank, the P2E2 program encourages Hong Kong-based 
Environment and Energy Service Companies (EESCOs) to develop pollution 
prevention and energy efficiency projects throughout mainland China and 
other developing Asian countries. These projects focus on correcting 
production and energy consumption inefficiencies in existing 
manufacturing plants and other facilities, thereby creating cost 
savings while addressing the region's growing pollution problem. The 
technology upgrades required to complete these projects provide 
significant opportunities for American technology vendors.

India

    India is experiencing dramatic economic growth and a rapidly 
increasing demand for energy. Currently the world's sixth-largest 
energy consumer, India will be the third largest by 2030. Both India's 
cities and villages lack adequate energy supply, so there is need to 
add on-grid and off-grid power generation. The Government of India has 
specified renewable energy in its development plans and has developed 
numerous government incentives. The federal government has set a goal 
of electrifying 18,000 remote villages and meeting 10 percent of its 
energy demand with clean energy by 2012. The Indian market for clean 
energy is estimated at $600 million with an annual growth rate of 25 
percent. The current 8,000 MW of installed capacity is expected to 
reach 20,000 MW by 2012.
    The clean energy market in India offers strong business prospects 
to U.S. companies, particularly in solar, biomass, gasification, wind, 
hydro, and solid and industrial waste-to-energy. The market for energy 
efficiency is estimated to be about $2 billion, concentrated especially 
in energy-intensive industries such as cement, aluminum, fertilizers, 
pulp and paper, petrochemicals, and steel.
    Kolkata: With a metropolitan population of 13 million, Kolkata 
(formerly Calcutta) is the capital of the state of West Bengal. Kolkata 
is the main commercial and financial hub of eastern India, which is 
home to a population of 280 million people living in 12 states and 
contributing 22 percent of India's annual net domestic product. The 
Communist party-led state government has in recent years adopted more 
investor-friendly policies, which has led to regional growth, 
consistently among the highest in all of India. Over 100 U.S. firms 
have a presence in Kolkata in sectors such as IT, mining, chemicals and 
petrochemicals, food processing, financial services, consumer goods, 
and engineering. Significant opportunities are emerging in 
infrastructure development projects, including power generation.
    West Bengal is implementing one of the largest clean energy 
programs in India, covering a broad spectrum of energy technologies 
such as solar thermal, solar photovoltaic, wind turbines, micro-
turbines, biogas plants, biomass gasifiers, small hydro and tidal 
power. The total current generation from renewable sources is about 62 
MW, and another 100 MW in renewable power capacity is being added 
through $183 million in private investment in the next two years. Much 
more private investment is being sought to meet the State's rapidly 
growing energy demands.
    Bangalore: With a population of 7 million, Bangalore is the capital 
of the State of Karnataka and is ``the Silicon Valley of India.'' Also 
known as the Knowledge Capital and Biotechnology Capital, the city is 
India's high-profile Information Technology (IT) center. In addition to 
its thriving IT and biotech sectors, Bangalore is the hub of India's 
aerospace, electronics, machine tools, automation and food processing 
industries. These growing industrial and commercial entities need 
access to reliable energy and the State of Karnataka is known for its 
clean energy initiatives.
    The state agency in this sector, the Karnataka Renewable Energy 
Development Ltd. (KREDL), is widely known as one of the most 
progressive in India and has many programs to promote clean energy. 
Karnataka currently has 1,600 MW of installed renewable energy 
capacity. This is expected to reach 2,500 MW by 2012. The wind sector 
is witnessing very high growth rates, and the State has plans to 
increase installed wind capacity (especially in and around the 
Chitradurga area of the State) at the rate of 200 MW per year. Biomass 
cogeneration, solar, and small hydro are also areas of high growth.
    Mission Goals: The Trade Mission will facilitate market entry or 
increased sales into these significant markets for U.S. clean energy 
technologies and services firms, and to assist mission participants in 
gaining first-hand market information and access to key government 
officials and potential business partners.
    Mission Scenario: In China and India, the International Trade 
Administration will:
     Provide a market briefing highlighting opportunities in 
the clean energy technologies sectors.
     Schedule one-on-one appointments with potential business 
partners for each participant.
     Provide a venue for the one-on-one appointments and 
provide interpreters as needed.
     Provide networking opportunities with the private and 
public sectors.
     Organize relevant site visits.
    Proposed Mission Timetable:
    Tuesday, January 8, 2008. Arrive in Beijing, Embassy Briefing, 
Welcome Reception.


[[Page 54242]]


    Wednesday, January 9, 2008. U.S.-China Clean Energy Technologies 
Industry Forum, One-on-One Business Meetings, Networking Reception.

    Thursday, January 10, 2008. Meeting with China's National 
Development and Reform Commission, Site Visit, One-on-One Business 
Meetings (Optional), Depart Beijing, Arrive Guangzhou.

    Friday, January 11, 2008. Consulate Briefing, Local Government 
Meetings, One-on-One Business Meetings, Depart Guangzhou, Arrive Hong 
Kong.

    Saturday, January 12, 2008. Clean Energy Finance Seminars and 
Networking Events in Hong Kong.

    Sunday, January 13, 2008. Depart Hong Kong, Arrive Kolkata.

    Monday, January 14, 2008. Consulate Briefing, Local Clean Energy 
Market Briefing, One-on-One Business Meetings, Networking Reception.

Tuesday, January 15, 2008.
Depart Kolkata,
    Arrive Bangalore,
Local Clean Energy Market Briefing,
Consulate Briefing,
Dinner or Reception.

Wednesday, January 17, 2008.
Government/Business Meetings,
One-on-One Business Meetings,
Dinner or Reception.

Thursday, January 18, 2008.
Depart Bangalore.

(It is possible for companies to participate in one or both countries 
of this trade mission.)
    Criteria for Participation:
     Relevance of the company's business line to the mission 
scope and goals;
     Potential for business in the selected markets;
     Timeliness of the company's completed application, 
participation agreement, and payment of the mission participation fee;
     Provision of adequate information on the company's 
products and/or services and communication of the company's primary 
objectives to facilitate appropriate matching with potential business 
partners;
     Certification that the company's products and/or services 
are manufactured or produced in the United States or, if manufactured/
produced outside of the United States, the products/services must be 
marketed under the name of a U.S. firm and have U.S. content 
representing at least 51 percent of the value of the finished goods or 
services; and
     Diversity of sectors represented.
    Any partisan political activities of an applicant, including 
political contributions, will be entirely irrelevant to the selection 
process.
    The mission will be promoted through the following venues: ITA's 
Export Assistance Centers, the Energy Team, the Asia Pacific Team, the 
Africa, Near East, and South Asia Team, Global Trade Programs; the 
Trade Events List http://www.export.gov; industry newsletters; the 
Federal Register; the Asia-Pacific Partnership for Clean Development 
and Climate; relevant trade publications; relevant trade associations; 
past Commerce trade mission participants; various in-house and 
purchased industry lists; the Commerce Department trade missions 
calendar: http://www.ita.doc.gov/doctm/tmcal.html; and the Web: http://www.export.gov/cleanenergymission.
    Recruitment will begin immediately and will close on November 5, 
2007. Qualified U.S companies/applicants will be selected on a rolling 
basis. The trade mission participation fee will be U.S.$3,500 per 
company. (If a company would like to participate in just the China or 
India portion of the trade mission, the participation fee will be 
$1,750) There will be an additional fee of $750 per country for each 
additional participant a company sends. The participation fee does not 
include the cost of travel, lodging, some ground transportation, or 
some meals. Participation is open to 25 qualified U.S. companies. 
Invited companies must submit the trade mission participation fee and 
completed participation agreement within two weeks of receipt of their 
invitation in order to secure their place in the mission. After that 
time other companies may be invited to fill that spot. Applications 
received after the closing date will be considered only if space and 
scheduling constraints permit.

    Dated: September 12, 2007.
Stephen Jacobs,
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Market Access & Compliance.
[FR Doc. 07-4681 Filed 9-21-07; 8:45 am]
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