'We need to pick up the pace here (India-US civil nuclear cooperation), the other areas of (energy) collaboration has progressed much faster. One of the key issues is resolution of the liability convention, to see that India is aligned with the international convention on supplementary compensation, which we expect to come into force this year, resolving this convention is important for all companies, including Indian companies. A small contract was put into force in terms of advancing a deal there,' said US Department of Energy Secretary Dr Ernest Moniz after the conclusion of the Delhi leg of the India-US Energy Dialogue here on Tuesday.

The Delhi talks, however, did not deliberate upon the India-US civil nuclear cooperation which is slated to be discussed in Mumbai on Wednesday.

The Deputy Chairman of Indian Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia who co-chaired the 3rd India-US Energy Dialogue alongwith Dr Moniz, however, said that the issues that have cropped up in successful implementation of the civil nuclear agreement has to be resolved within the framework of the existing Indian law.

'Whenever you have something new and something complex, different stakeholders can have different views. It is true that it is not only the US that raised this issue. Other partners with whom we want to pursue the nuclear cooperation have similar concerns. We are hopeful that within the existing framework of civil nuclear liability act, it should be possible to resolve these problems and this would be,' Ahluwalia said.

However, according to some senior officials who took part in the delegation level talks India’s nuclear liability law is based on the IAEA's Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage (CSC), hence it has the option of not ratifying the international liability regime that is going to come into force later this year.

India-US civil nuclear cooperation agreement was finalised in July 2007 and signed in October 2008. The Energy Dialogue is part of the broader Indio-U.S. Strategic Dialogue. The Energy Dialogue was launched in May 2005 with the last meeting held in September 2012 in Washington DC.

The Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) had signed a commercial pact with the US energy major Westinghouse Electric Co. (WEC) for installing 1,000 MW nuclear reactor in Gujarat in September 2013. But there has not been any major headway even though Westinghouse and GE Hitachi are in consultations with NPCIL to commence commercial cooperation in this area.

Several foreign energy firms as well as domestic companies are raising questions on how the civil liability law will be implemented as a result of which both sides have not been able to reach to an agreement yet.

One of the major differences between the international liability regime and India’s liability law is allowing the plant operator legal recourse against a supplier, which is allowed under the Indian law. Secondly, the Indian law also permits the operator legal recourse if the supplier has intentionally caused damage.

In the Delhi talks senior officials from the Department of Energy and various national laboratories in India participated. The U.S. delegation included the Department of Energy, U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA), the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Department of Commerce and State Department.

India and the United States affirmed that both countries had a strong commitment to collaborating on energy and promoting greater technological innovation, scientific collaboration,, trade, research and development, deploying environment-friendly technologies and products, and promoting sound regulatory frameworks to deliver energy solutions for sustainable growth. The Delhi talks reviewed the full range of cooperation under the US – India Energy Dialogue.

The Co-chairs of the dialogue, Dr. Ahluwalia and Secretary Moniz discussed progress made by the working groups in renewable energy and new technologies, cooperation in shale gas, LNG imports, energy efficiency and low carbon technologies. The joint consotia members from the U.S-India virtual Joint Clean Energy Research and Development Center (JCERDC) also presented on their progress in solar, advanced bio-fuels, and energy efficiency research projects under PACE-R, a unique program for funding joint research by Indian and US institutes.

In 2009, the U.S. and India agreed to significantly increase collaboration under the Partnership to Advance Clean Energy (PACE) for deployment, research and developement in clean energy. The PACE program has already mobilized public and private resources to support clean energy research and accelerate the deployment of clean energy technologies, policies and practices

PACE brings together many agencies of the United States Government, including the Department of Energy, USAID, USTDA, Department of Commerce, U.S. Ex-Im Bank, Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), and the State Department to partner with the many Indian ministries working on clean energy research and deployment. There are three activity tracks under PACE.

The India-U.S. Dialogue is an ongoing program, and new initiatives such as forecasting air conditioning demand, improving efficiency for space cooling and the PEACE (Promoting Energy Access through Clean Energy) initiative were launched in 2013. PEACE promotes increased energy access and is developing several priority activities, including the formation of an Off-Grid Clean Energy Alliance for off-grid business models.

The Planning Commission, partnered by USAID, led a new working group on Sustainable Growth, which met for the first time at the Dialogue level. This program envisages institutional co-operation in the areas of energy data management, energy modelling and integration of renewable energy.

The two co-chairs expressed satisfaction at the progress made in the energy sector through the co-operative process. They directed the members of the Working Groups to continue their efforts, especially in the newer areas of mutual interest. The next Dialogue will be held in the United States on dates that will be mutually agreed upon through diplomatic channels.

Dr Ahluwalia briefed the Secretary Moniz about the India Energy Security Scenarios, 2047 tool, and highlighted the important role of both demand and supply-side interventions. The Deputy Chairman presented a copy of the India Energy Security Scenarios, 2047 document to the US Energy Secretary. He informed him that this tool has been placed on public domain and the scenarios have been hosted on the website of the Planning Commission. He asked the U.S. side to study the hypotheses of this energy scenario-building exercise, and welcomed any comments on it.

Under three track activity of PACE program, PACE - Deployment: has mobilized nearly $2 billion in capital for clean energy projects in India, including the finance of 20% of Phase I projects of India's Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission.

Under PACE-D, USAID announced that it is developing an ambitious new multi-year, multi-million dollar initiative to address the systemic costs of integrating renewable energy into the Indian power grid at a scale – a major hurdle facing utilities and project developers across India. USAID is currently examining opportunities to engage with Indian institutions – both government and private sector – to support the scale up of renewable energy which can make electricity more reliable and support economic growth.

Leveraging the expertise of other U.S. government entities and U.S.-India Energy Cooperation Program member companies, USTDA is supporting activities to promote the development of solar projects and micro-grids, the uptake of smart grid technologies by Indian utilities, and the implementation of new technologies in the refining sector.

PACE - Research: the U.S.-India Joint Clean Energy Research and Development Center has committed $125 million for research in solar power, advanced biofuels, and energy efficiency research.

Promoting Energy Access though Clean Energy (PEACE): Launched in September 2013, PEACE promotes increased energy access and is developing several priority activities, including formation of an Off-Grid Clean Energy Alliance and a new $8 million 'PACEsetter Fund' for seed financing of innovative off-grid business models.