Use your voice: demand the Department of Energy not funds dirty hydrogen projects!

The Department of Energy is funding hydrogen production in several Western states that regularly face water shortages and is preparing to double down through a new 8-billion-dollar program. These hydrogen facilities are extremely water-intensive and should not be encouraged in regions already experiencing water shortages. But there’s still time left for you to ensure these projects are implemented responsibly!

Green energy alternatives exist. Instead of increasing droughts, widening inequalities, and killing helpless animals, we could be expanding solar and wind. But business as usual will continue unless environmentalists like YOU speak out.

Comments

To Whom It May Concern:

The Department of Energy’s (DOE) pending hydrogen hub program carries a significant potential for harm. The $8 billion in funding for demonstration projects and associated infrastructure must be allocated only to green hydrogen projects that demonstrate responsible end-uses and where manufacturing can occur sustainably.

The current ‘clean’ hydrogen production standard is not sufficient to prevent dirty hydrogen from qualifying for public funding. By failing to require an analysis of the full lifecycle of emissions associated with manufacturing hydrogen, the DOE is allowing this standard to be co-opted as a greenwashing tactic where Big Oil can repackage fracked gas as “clean” hydrogen. In addition to propping-up fossil scams, this artificial restriction of emissions analysis to only facility emissions will undermine the ability of policymakers and communities to make informed decisions about the utility and impact of hydrogen projects. This runs counter to what any demonstration project should achieve. I urge the DOE to ensure the clean hydrogen production standard only qualifies clean hydrogen that is produced from renewable sources like wind and solar power.

In addition to ensuring clean hydrogen funding only goes towards green hydrogen, the DOE must use its purview over project selection to ensure hydrogen build-out occurs responsibly. Manufacturing hydrogen is energy-intensive, and results in the loss of a quarter or more of the energy input into the process. Therefore, alternatives must be carefully considered before scaling-up hydrogen use in a sector. Using hydrogen in sectors where direct electrification is a feasible alternative will undermine the ability of renewable energy to displace dirtier fuels, crowd out important electrification initiatives, and increase costs for ratepayers. Similarly, using hydrogen in the power sector risks prolonging fossil infrastructure and will significantly increase nitrogen oxide emissions - an ozone precursor. Demonstrating hydrogen for these end-uses are not productive uses of public funding.

Additionally, manufacturing green hydrogen is incredibly water-intensive, requiring 9 kg of water for every 1 kg of hydrogen produced. Demonstration hubs should not be built in water-stressed regions already struggling with existing water demands.

Sincerely,
{user_data~First name} {user_data~Last name}
{user_data~City}, {user_data~State} {user_data~Postcode}

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