On August 7, the League of Women Voters of PA and Food and Water Watch announced they are teaming up on a letter-writing campaign to the US Department of Energy in opposition to hydrogen hubs in Pennsylvania.

“Hydrogen hubs are manufacturing centers for producing hydrogen fuel from liquified natural gas (LNG). Proponents of these centers tout them as clean energy hydrogen hubs, but this is misleading.

“All hydrogen hubs rely heavily or entirely on blue hydrogen which is produced from fracked gas. If renewable energy were used, it would produce green hydrogen, which would be a clean energy source.

“Three hydrogen hub applications involving Pennsylvania have been submitted to the US Department of Energy: MACH2 is in southeastern PA, and DNA and ARCH2 are in western PA.

“If any applications are awarded funding by the DOE, Pennsylvania will face the buildout of more fossil fuel infrastructure such as power plants and pipelines, including dangerous, unregulated carbon dioxide (CO2) pipelines across Pennsylvania and decades of fracking.

“Our climate, air, water, health and safety will continue to be adversely impacted by the fossil fuel industry under the guise of so-called "clean hydrogen.”

“Over the coming months the DOE will make decisions about allocating funds from the federal Inflation Reduction Act for hydrogen hubs, and now is the time to act to keep this dirty energy out of Pennsylvania.

“Handwritten letters are an effective way of getting the attention of DOE officials.  Please write to the person in charge of the decision-making process, Director Shalanda H. Baker at the following address:  Shalanda H. Baker, Director, Office of Economic Impact and Diversity, U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue SW, Washington DC 20585

“Funding decisions are expected in October so please send by September 25, 2023.

“If you would like a template letter, please contact Kathy Cook, Kathy.cook@palwv.org.”

Related Articles - Hydrogen:

-- Guest Essay: ‘Clean’ Hydrogen Smoke And Mirrors - By Karen Elias, Lock Haven  [PaEN]

-- Environmental Health Project: Public Health Impacts Of Blue Hydrogen Production, Health, Environmental Protections Needed  [PaEN]

-- PA Environmental Council: Clean Hydrogen & Carbon Capture Can Be Part Of A Comprehensive Decarbonization Strategy: Responsibly Deployed With Environmental Integrity, Accountability And Equity  [PaEN]

-- NRDC Blog: How Clean Is Pennsylvania’s New Hydrogen Subsidy? It’s Up To The Feds  [PaEN]

-- Gov. Wolf Signs Massive, 20-Year Taxpayer Subsidies Into Law For Natural Gas, Hydrogen And Petrochemical Industries With No Public Accountability Or Environmental Safeguards  [PaEN]

NewsClips This Week - Clean Energy:

-- Beaver County Times: Solar Innovation Is Coming To Beaver County - By Daniel Rossi-Keen

-- Altoona Mirror: Logan Township Drafts Solar Array Ordinance

-- WESA: Pittsburgh Water & Sewer Authority Is Investing In Wind Energy

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: Pittsburgh Water Authority Commits To Purchasing More Wind Energy

-- TribLive: Sustainable Pittsburgh Selected For Clean Energy Workforce Initiative

-- Duquesne Light Company: A Clean Energy Future Starts With A Skilled Workforce

-- The Guardian: They Got Jobs In Solar Industry, But The Reality Was Less Sunny Than They Expected

-- StateImpactPA - Rachel McDevitt: PA Participation In RGGI Has Been Held Up For More Than A Year, What Has The State Lost?

-- PA Capital-Star Guest Essay: By Stalling On RGGI, Here’s What Pennsylvania Residents Are Missing - By Joseph Minott, Clean Air Council

-- The Allegheny Front: New Book Looks To Climate Resilience To Ensure No One Gets Left Behind

-- StateImpactPA - Rachel McDevitt: What Can One Person Do About Climate Change?  Part I: Start At Home

-- Inquirer: Philly To Replace Every Street Light [130,000] With LED Lights Over Next 2 Years

-- WHYY: Philly Starts Replacing Its Street Lights With More Efficient LEDs

-- TribLive: Hardware, Electrical Stores Adapt To Federal Ban On Selling Incandescent Light Bulbs

-- WHYY: PA’s Whole-Home Repairs Money In Limbo Despite Shapiro’s Budget Signature

-- City & State PA: Whole-Home Repairs Program Is Remaking The Housing Landscape

-- Utility Dive: PJM, MISO, Other Grid Operators Warn Of ‘Significant Power Shortages’ From Epa’s Power Plant Carbon Rule

-- Utility Dive: Constellation Energy CEO ‘Disappointed’ To See Peers Opposing EPA’s Power Plant Carbon Rule

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: CONSOL Shifts Coal Business To Exports As Domestic Power Plant Business Declines

-- TribLive Guest Essay: As Climate Change Becomes Harder To Ignore, Proposed EPA Power Plant Standards Give Hope - PennEnvironment

-- Warren Times: 4 Factors Driving 2023’s Extreme Heat And Climate Disasters

-- Bloomberg: Texas Electric Grid Holds Up - Hottest Days Cannot Be Met By Natural Gas, Coal, Nuclear Alone, Renewables Have Kept Comfortable Buffer In Place

Related Articles This Week - Clean Energy:

-- The Nature Conservancy-PA: Bipartisan Poll Finds Broad Support In PA For Clean Energy Transition  [PaEN]

-- PA Solar Center Hosts Aug. 18 PA Renewable Energy Policy Webinar - Time To Take Action  [PaEN]

-- On Demand: ReImagine Appalachia, Partners: Solar-Powered Faith Communities And Houses Of Worship, Saving Money And Ethical Labor  [PaEN]

-- Pittsburgh Water & Sewer Authority To Buy More Wind Energy From Western PA Energy Consortium  [PaEN]

-- PA League Of Women Voters, Food & Water Watch Launch Letter-Writing Campaign Opposing Hydrogen Hubs In PA  [PaEN]

-- PA Interfaith Power & Light, Jewish Earth Alliance Aug. 16 Webinar: Why Should We Care About, Advocate For A Climate-Friendly Federal Farm Bill?  [PaEN]

-- PA-Based Evangelical Environmental Network: Over 51,000 Christians Call For Stronger Standards On Fossil Fuel Power Plants  [PaEN]

-- PJM Interconnection, Other Grid Operators Express Concerns Proposed EPA Power Plant Rule Will Accelerate Retirements Of Fossil Fuel Plants Without Reliable Renewable, Storage Technologies To Replace Them  [PaEN]

[Posted: August 7, 2023]

8/14/2023