Oregon has rejected hydrogen power, but now that there is federal money available, will Oregon Governor Kotek seriously bring hydrogen to the state? The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) established grants in 2022 to develop Hydrogen Hubs across the country. The Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Association’s PNWH2 Hub has been selected as one of the Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs that is eligible to receive $1 billion in federal funds.

Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Association has already established private-public partnership with Washington State to jumpstart the state’s transition to clean hydrogen, particularly to decarbonize sectors such as maritime, aviation, and heavy industry. Washington Green Hydrogen Alliance, Washington State University, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, and many private corporations have joined in partnerships.

The PNWH2 Hub will span across Washington, Oregon, and Montana, and will leverage the clean power and innovative technology companies in the Pacific Northwest to accelerate the transition to clean hydrogen production and use. The Washington hub will focus on decarbonizing the region’s hard-to-electrify heavy-duty transportation, long-duration energy storage, ports, agriculture and industrial operations.

Hydrogen atoms are contained in water, plants, animals and, of course, humans. But while it’s present in nearly all molecules in living things, it’s very scarce as a gas – less than one part per million by volume. The draw is that burning hydrogen does not release carbon dioxide. Hydrogen can be produced from a variety of resources, such as natural gas, nuclear power, biogas and renewable power. The challenge is harnessing hydrogen as a gas on a large scale to fuel homes and businesses. Hydrogen is also a lightweight fuel option for road, air and shipping transportation.

The Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Association brings together key players in the industry to respond to the opportunity, build the infrastructure necessary to form such a hub and integrate it into the state’s clean energy portfolio, eliminate fossil fuels from its electricity generation portfolio by 2045 and adopt a 100% clean electricity standard as well as net-zero greenhouse emissions by 2050,

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

“Oregon has long been a leader in clean, renewable energy production,” said Governor Tina Kotek. “This transformational opportunity to accelerate development of the nation’s clean energy economy is tailor-made for the Pacific Northwest, where a proud tradition of technological innovation and collaboration in taking on bold challenges is in our nature. I am grateful for this exciting investment from the U.S. Department of Energy and the Biden Administration.”

“With this investment, the Pacific Northwest will be able to develop a new clean hydrogen economy that will create local jobs and build on the region’s long history of supporting clean energy resources,” said Oregon Department of Energy Director and PNWH2 Board Vice Chair Janine Benner. “We can seize this opportunity to ensure an equitable clean energy transition that invests in local communities across the region.”

Founded with unions, environmental groups, and tribal representatives, the PNWH2 Hub includes representation from these groups on its Community Benefits Plan governing board. The hub has also committed to negotiating Project Labor Agreements for all projects over $1 million and anticipates creating more than 10,000 direct jobs.

The PNWH2 Hub is eligible to receive up to $1 billion in federal funding over four DOE-defined development phases spanning nine years, with $20 million allocated for Phase 1. DOE will evaluate the hub’s activities and deliver go/no-go decisions at each phase.

Can and will Oregon shift its agenda and stop the attack against natural gas and fossil fuels so its abundance can be used to produce clean hydrogen energy?


--Donna Bleiler

Post Date: 2023-10-13 16:25:55

Last Update: 2023-10-13 17:37:19