The conservative 6-3 majority in the US Supreme Court pulled the rug from under the Environmental Protection Agency last month when they restricted EPA’s power to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. Nevertheless, those who laugh last laugh best, and the best laughers go to the playmakers in the green hydrogen field.
The clean energy plan was never the point
For those of you who are new to the subject, West Virginia v. United States. EPA was a challenge to the Clean Power Plan, which was an EPA proposal during the Obama administration. The aim was to give the power generation sector a low-carbon profile.
The clean energy plan has exceeded its CO2 reduction target by a wide margin, but not because it ever came into effect. Natural gas coal knocked out of viewin a trend that gained momentum from the Obama administration to the Trump administration.
The Clean Power Plan never went into effect because the state of West Virginia and other fossil fuel stakeholders took it to court. It was when withdrawn during the Trump administration. The Trump EPA tried – and failed – to replace the Clean Power Plan with: a relatively toothless version† The Biden administration has yet to come up with a plan of its own, which leaves people wondering why the nation’s highest court decided to hear the case at all, let alone rule in West Virginia’s favor.
If you have any ideas on that, let us know in the comments thread. Bonus points if you say so the Federalist Associationwhich vetted and approved all six judges in the conservative majority. Double bonus if you conclude that West Virginia v. EPA was not about the EPA at all. It was a test case and a precedent. Court officials suspect the ultimate goal is to prevent a federal agency from promulgating “big questions” rules without explicit instruction from Congress, opening up the potential to freeze the federal government in its tracks.
Nobody expects green hydrogen
Well, that’s water under the bridge now. As the challenges of the Clean Power Plan snaked through the courts, the green hydrogen revolution began to take shape, first as a trickle and then as a flood. By the time President Joe Biden took office last year, sustainable H2 was central to the Energy department new “Energy Earthshots” initiativewhich was the first-ever program to launch the “Hydrogen Shot” in June 2021.
Hydrogen Shot launched as a source independent program. Hydrogen extracted from natural gas and other non-renewable resources is also on the table. However, the program requires carbon capture to meet its net-zero target for hydrogen from non-renewable energy sources, giving the advantage to green hydrogen.
For example, it is no coincidence that the agency Loan Program Office (yes, that office) tapped into a green hydrogen project in Utah for its first loan guarantee in 10 years†
The Delta, Utah facility will combine 220 megawatts of alkaline electrolysis with two massive 4.5 million barrel salt caverns to store clean hydrogen. “Advanced Clean Energy Storage will capture excess renewable energy when it is most abundant, store it as hydrogen and then use it as fuel.”
The plan is to feed the green hydrogen into an Intermountain Power Agency gas turbine power plant. The facility is equipped with new turbines designed to run on an initial mix of green hydrogen and natural gas, then gradually switch to 100% green hydrogen as the supply chain matures.
The green hydrogen revolution has only just begun
Of all the green hydrogen activities around the world, a proposal taking shape in Ukraine is probably the most interesting from a geopolitical point of view. The nation wants her significant wind and solar resources to develop a domestic green hydrogen industry. The idea is to strengthen its advocacy for entry into the European Union, not as an economy in need of rescue, but as an economy that can export energy to the EU and make a significant contribution to the sustainable, de-Russified European energy market. of the future.
As a hint that things are moving in that direction, the Energy Department patted itself on the shoulder last week for helping Ukraine start exporting electricity to the EU via Romania.
“As they grow in volume, electricity exports from Ukraine will diversify Europe’s energy supplies amid Russian aggression, support energy security across the region, strengthen their trade ties with Western allies and provide a much-needed source of income for the Ukraine’s energy sector plagued,” explains the Energy Department.
The distributed wind angle
Here in the US, proposals are popping up for new green hydrogen hubs in likely places like California, as well as unlikely places like Texas and Missouri. A particularly ambitious hub encompasses the entire tristate area of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut in one collaborative bundle.
Meanwhile, in the Midwest, a race is brewing between green hydrogen fans and other energy stakeholders. Fossil and bioenergy interests propose a whole new web of pipelines to move carbon from power plants to underground storage facilities.
The new pipelines are already meeting opposition from local landowners and environmental groups. To be honest, new clean energy transmission lines encounter similar obstacles. However, green hydrogen has a few secret weapons up its sleeve. It can be produced at or near the point where electricity is generated from renewable sources, and it can also be used locally. It doesn’t necessarily require major new transmission lines or, for that matter, new pipelines.
A particularly interesting development in this regard is a plan to sustainable H2 production on farms in the U.S. Farmers can use the hydrogen to produce sustainable ammonia fertilizeruse it as an energy storage medium or sell it.
The plan is in line with the promotion of the Energy Department of distributed wind energywhich refers to turbines of any size that generate electricity for on-site use or for local distribution.
Until recent years, distributed wind was a tough sell† Despite the enthusiasm of the Energy Department, the financial benefits are difficult to determine. The green hydrogen corner offers farmers and other distributed wind owners the opportunity to generate value-added products in addition to generating electricity.
That doesn’t even count the electric fuel movementwhich is also starting to gather steam on the heels of green hydrogen.
Game on. Under the Hydrogen Shot initiative, the Energy Department has set a goal of producing net zero hydrogen of $2.00 per kilogram by 2025 and $1.00 per kilogram by 2030, which is just around the corner.
It’s hard to see how natural gas with carbon capture will get there in time, but there you have it. Carbon Capture Fans have had a hard time here in the US ever since the FutureGen CCS project bit into the dust and they seem to have their hands full dealing with emissions from existing power plants.
follow me on twitter @TinaMCasey†
Image Courtesy of US Department of Energy†
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