CHARLESTON – West Virginia recently submitted a proposal to snag one of four possible regional hydrogen hubs, something state and federal officials call a game changer. But for environmental advocates, they see a hydrogen hub as just another pipe dream.
In a joint press release March 21, Gov. Jim Justice, U.S. Sens. Joe Manchin and Shelley Moore Capito, and 1st District Rep. David McKinley announced that a proposal for a regional hydrogen hub was submitted to the U.S. Department of Energy.
Manchin, the state’s lone Democrat, and Republicans Justice, Capito and McKinley formed the West Virginia Hydrogen Hub Working Group in February. Manchin, Capito, and McKinley were supporters of the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act which they helped pass and includes funding for the hydrogen hub project, while Justice was a supporter of the bill.
“With our abundant energy sources and strong partnerships, our state is uniquely situated to compete to develop a hydrogen hub,” Manchin said. “I am incredibly proud of the efforts of our bipartisan group to put forward a great proposal that showcases how West Virginia can continue to lead the country – and the world – in advancing energy technologies and bring good-paying jobs to the state.”
“Along with a prepared workforce, economic infrastructure, and geographic advantages, our state has a history of being an energy powerhouse with a proven ability to adapt and export both fossil fuels and renewable resources, including hydropower, wind, and solar,” Capito said. “This is yet another opportunity for our state created through our Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and I’m proud of the proposal we, as members of the Hydrogen Hub Coalition, put forth on behalf of workers and families across West Virginia.”
“West Virginia is the place where this all-important hydrogen hub belongs,” Justice said. “I truly believe that, after reading our official response, the decision makers at the DOE will agree that West Virginia is the dream landing spot for this hydrogen hub to flourish at heights not possible anywhere else.”
The federal project is funded with $9.5 billion from the hard infrastructure bill, including $8 billion for the Regional Hydrogen Hub program. Each hub is required to demonstrate the production of clean hydrogen and demonstrate the use of clean hydrogen. Lawmakers were able to insert specific language that requires at least one hub to be placed in the Appalachian region.
According to the Department of Energy, hydrogen is a clean fuel that can be used to decarbonize manufacturing processes, such as steel and metals production, and heavy transportation. Hydrogen can also be used as a long-term fuel cell to store energy for future use.
“Hydrogen is an alternative to some of the fuels that are out there. It’s innovative,” said McKinley in an interview Wednesday after his keynote address to attendees of the annual Construction and Design Exposition in Charleston.
“We don’t have any (carbon dioxide) emissions. There are no mercury emissions. There are no other contaminants in (hydrogen),” McKinley said. “The only emission you get from a hydrogen fuel cell is water. So what better way long-term to get on the ground floor and build up so that we can get to that point. That’s our intention.”
West Virginia’s proposal would most likely either be a gray hydrogen process, when hydrogen is extracted from natural gas with emissions released into the atmosphere; or blue hydrogen process which also uses natural gas, but the greenhouse gasses are captured and pumped underground through carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS.)
Currently, the process of extracting hydrogen is expensive. The hydrogen hub program is meant to research ways to efficiently extract hydrogen in a way that is not cost-prohibitive and allows for the continued use of natural gas for electric power generation. McKinley said the working group…
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