In what can be termed as the first agreement between leading US and Chinese power companies, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) has been signed between US power giant Duke Energy Corp. and China's Huaneng Group, for exploring prospective joint projects on key energy issues, including carbon control.

With the MoU saying that Duke and Huaneng "may explore the possibility of forming a formal business relationship," Duke CEO Jim Rogers has noted that the nonbinding agreement clearly paves way for China's foremost state-run power company to invest in the Americas.

Referring to the MoU in and interview with Dow Jones Newswires, Rogers said: "What we'd like to do with them eventually, at the right time, is to introduce opportunities for them to invest in the US as well as in South America."

Since US has, of late, been pressing China for slowing the growth of its greenhouse gas emissions, the recently-signed MoU has the two countries pledging cooperation in four key areas, namely - clean coal, with gasification and supercritical coal plants; carbon capture and sequestration; energy savings and emission controls; and renewable energy.

While Duke is building a 630-megawatt IGCC plant - the first-of-its-kind, with carbon capture and storage - in Edwardsport, Indiana; Huaneng is leading the GreenGen Co. consortium that is building China's first commercial-scale IGCC power plant in the north city of Tianjin.