Speeches & Articles

Remarks of Consul General Beth A. Payne
at the inauguration of the Coal Mine Methane Clearing House
Indian Institute of Coal Management, Ranchi, India
November 17, 2008

November 17, 2008

Mr. A.K. Singh, Chairman and Managing Director, Central Mine Planning
& Design Institute
Mr. H.C. Gupta, Secretary, Ministry of Coal, Government of India
My colleagues from United States (U.S.) and India

Ladies and Gentlemen
 
I am delighted to be in Ranchi today and thank you for inviting me to join you for the inauguration of the Coal Mine Methane Clearing house.  This conference is a great example of the type of cooperation that the U.S. Government wants to continue to have with India since it leverages the strengths of both the public and the private sectors to promote the use of clean energy.
 
On November, 16, 2006, U.S. and India signed a Memorandum of Understanding to establish a CMM/CBM Clearinghouse or "information center") in India.  Since then, the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and its Indian partners have worked relentlessly to establish to promote CMM projects and to encourage private sector engagement in coal bed/coal mine methane opportunities.
 
A critical aspect of the U.S.-India cooperation in this area has been the establishment of the CMM Clearinghouse, located here in Ranchi, which will be the central point of information for coal mine methane projects in India.  Domestic and international investors will be able to start here, in Jharkand, to discover opportunities throughout the entire country.  The U.S. Government has provided USD 75,000 to the clearing house to support its first year of activities and will continue to work with the Clearinghouse to ensure its success.
 
The capture of Coal Mine Methane is not only environmentally advantageous, but also improves company revenues and employee safety.  For example, between 1994 and 2006, the U.S. removed more than 216 million metric tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through CMM programs.  To give you an idea of the scale of the environmental savings, this is equivalent to removing over 39 million passenger vehicles from the roads for one year. 
 
CMM gas sales have also been an important source of revenue, generating more than USD 600 million in revenue each year.  In 2006, the U.S. coal mining industry recovered and used about 86 percent of all drained coal mine methane.
 
The U.S. is working with India not only on Coal Mine  and Coal Bed Methane, but we are partners in a greater energy dialogue. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is supporting both the SARI/Energy initiative and the Regional Clean Coal Partnership (RCCP) Program, which are programs that will help fully harness India’s energy potential.  As you all know, the U.S. and India have also entered into a historic civil nuclear agreement that will help India meet its burgeoning energy demand and we look forward to implementing this agreement over the coming years.
 
Fossil fuels are, and will continue to be, an integral component of energy strategy.  Our challenge is to develop the technology needed to use these fuels in such a way to minimize the negative impact on the environment and capture additional value from the inputs.   I hope that this conference will help forge successful alliances and partnerships among the various experts and stake holders here today, and that you have many interesting deliberations and generate a number of innovative ideas over the course of the next two days.  This is a fitting overture for the CMM clearinghouse and an anniversary gift for Jharkhand which came into existence on November 15, 2000.  Thank you.