U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke today joined seven other U.S. government agencies in launching a coordinated effort to promote renewable energy and energy efficiency exports – the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Export Initiative.
The Initiative was developed through the Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee Working Group on Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency, which includes representatives from the Departments of Commerce, Energy, State, and Agriculture, as well as the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im), the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), the U.S. Trade and Development Agency, and the Office of the United States Trade Representative.
Through the Initiative, the U.S. Government will support renewable energy and energy efficiency (RE&EE) exporters by offering new financing products, enhancing market access, increasing trade promotion and improving the delivery of export promotion services to current and future RE&EE companies.
The Initiative, which is described in a report being released today by the Commerce Department, comes on the heels of formation of the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Advisory Committee, which is made up of industry leaders. Locke chaired the committee’s first meeting today. The Committee will advise the Secretary on the development and implementation of programs and policies that will help to expand the competitiveness of the U.S. renewable energy and energy efficiency industries.
The Initiative is the U.S. Government’s first-ever coordinated effort to support the promotion of renewable energy and energy efficiency exports. Through the implementation of 23 interagency actions, the Initiative is designed to facilitate an increase of RE&EE exports during the next five years, helping to meet the goals of the National Export Initiative and President Obama’s challenge to become the leading exporter of clean energy technologies.
As part of the Initiative, the federal government is launching a new online portal to provide renewable energy companies easy access to U.S. Government export resources, and the Commerce Department is committing to an increased number of RE&EE trade and trade-policy missions. Additionally, the Initiative calls for:
Source: U.S. Department of Commerce
