By NREL — Representatives of the Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and China’s State Grid Energy Research Institute today signed a first-ever memorandum of understanding between the two organizations.
The State Grid Energy Research Institute (SGERI), located in Beijing, is a subsidiary of China’s national utility, State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC). China has announced plans to strengthen its national grid so that it can more effectively deliver electricity generated by both conventional and renewable methods.
The MOU was signed at NREL this morning, immediately after brief remarks were made by Dr. Dan Arvizu, director of NREL, and Liu Zhenya, chairman of SGCC.
“Clean energy isn’t solely a concern of the United States,” Arvizu said. “It’s something that affects the entire planet, so it’s important to have researchers in China and other countries addressing the problems of supplying power from renewable energy.”
The agreement between the NREL and SGERI lays out a general framework for coordination between the two organizations, and is intended to spark discussions for creating more specific R&D collaborations in the future.
The scope of the agreement includes research project coordination, energy systems integration, power market design, site visits, and personnel exchanges.
A potential outcome resulting from the two organizations working together could be the creation of a partnership to inform policymakers about energy and sustainable development.
NREL is the U.S. Department of Energy’s primary national laboratory for renewable energy and energy efficiency research and development. NREL is operated for the Energy Department by The Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC.
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