Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal today expressed the need for strengthening cooperation with the US in the areas of clean coal technologies and underground coal gasification.
In a meeting with a US delegation led by American Senator Christopher Bond here, Jaiswal said use of clean coal technologies was essential in view of the growing demand for coal in India due to addition in power generation capacity.
Underground coal gasification is an industrial process, which enables coal to be converted into product gas, while clean coal technology is used to reduce environmental impact of coal energy generation.
"Issues relating to energy security were discussed in the meeting...It was further mentioned that Coal India Ltd had issued a global Expression of Interest for strategic partnerships through formation of joint ventures for opening greenfield projects and equity infusion with relatively long-term offtake agreements," an official statement said.
It was also mentioned in the meeting that a global study bringing out the benefits of coal in various countries of the world has been initiated by American coal companies and that the Indian coal companies would be supporting it, the statement added.
