Power Play

Can India give the US a boost in the clean energy race?

The potential is there in India’s low-cost manufacturing base, scale, rare earths, investor interest and ambition.

US President Joe Biden speaking on climate change at the former Brayton Point Power Station in Somerset, Massachusetts, in July. PHOTO: REUTERS
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NEW DELHI - On Aug 16, US President Joe Biden approved the single biggest climate package in American history - the Inflation Reduction Act. It envisages US$369 billion (S$527 billion) of federal funding to fight climate change and boost America's energy security, revving up its capacity to produce wind turbines, solar panels and electric vehicles.

While the drive to embrace clean energy is writ large on this landmark legislation, a closer read signals another strategic objective - reducing America's reliance on China, which commands a stranglehold on renewable energy supply chains, ranging from solar modules to electric batteries.

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