New Jersey environmentalists concerned about federal hydrogen energy plan

NEWS SUMMARY

Hydrogen energy hub faces backlash from environmentalists. The White House wants to spend money on a new energy project that uses hydrogen to make electricity. Some people who care about the environment do not like this idea. They think it will make the air dirty and take money away from other clean energy sources. The project will take a long time to finish and will use different ways to get hydrogen from water and rocks. Some people who support the project say it will cause less pollution than other energy sources because it will trap the carbon dioxide in the rocks.

by Nikita Biryukov, New Jersey Monitor
October 13, 2023

The White House’s move to send $750 million for a hydrogen energy hub serving New Jersey and two of its neighbors has drawn opposition from environmentalists who worry the project will increase pollution and draw investment away from other renewables.

The federal funds are just part of a larger $7 billion pool of investments the administration announced for a series of hydrogen products in a bid to kickstart a new sector of clean energy while cutting the carbon impacts of existing hydrogen projects.

Completion of the hydrogen hub is likely years away, and Friday’s announcement marks the beginning of a planning phase expected to last at least 12 months. The eventual project is expected to deliver electricity to power industrial and business operations in the southern half of New Jersey, Delaware, and parts of Pennsylvania.

Most of the energy production at what’s to be called the Mid-Atlantic Clean Hydrogen Hub will be based on electrolysis, where electrical currents are used to separate water into its chemical components, releasing heat, steam, and electricity as byproducts.

Chiefly, the hub will use renewable sources or nuclear power — called green and pink hydrogen, respectively — to fuel its energy production, but the project also includes a carbon component. That will extract hydrogen by pumping water enriched with carbon dioxide into mineral-rich rock formations under great pressure and heat, leading to the release of hydrogen gases.

Supporters say these orange hydrogen projects can produce cleaner energy than their renewable counterparts because ground minerals bond and absorb the carbon dioxide as hydrogen is released, leading to a net reduction in emissions.

The project’s opponents are less than convinced.

“The data and the science are very, very clear that hydrogen hubs are a source of climate-changing emissions,” said Maya van Rossu, the Delaware Riverkeeper. “They are not actually a meaningful solution for addressing the climate crisis.”

The project’s reliance on aging nuclear power plants in Salem County is also cause for concern, van Rossu said. The Hope Creek Nuclear Generating Station is licensed to operate until 2046, and licenses for the Salem Nuclear Power Plant’s two units will expire in 2036 and 2040.

“That means extending the life of a nuclear power plant that’s poised to be shut down in coming years because it’s at the end of its life cycle,” she said.

The New Jersey League of Conservation Voters is also opposed to the plan, saying the hub will “still rely on Pennsylvania’s fracked gas.”

“As planned, this project would mean doubling down on fossil fuels and require enhancements and reconstruction of expensive existing fossil fuel infrastructure leaving working families to shoulder the high costs,” Ed Potosnak, the group’s executive director, said in a statement.

Others welcomed the announcement, saying it would further efforts to see South Jersey reap the economic benefits of deep investment into clean energy, like those seen at the New Jersey Wind Port, the country’s first purpose-built wind energy marshaling facility.

President Joe Biden on Friday said the hydrogen projects in Delaware and elsewhere would help the country meet energy needs in the industrial sector as the country transitions its electricity production to renewable sources like wind and solar.

Those types of renewables worked fine to charge electric vehicles and power American homes, he said, but they would not provide enough power to meet the specific needs of some industries.

“When it comes to manufacturing things like steel, aluminum, and other materials, factories need processed materials at over 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit to get that done. You need to burn fuel to get that done,” Biden said during a press conference in Philadelphia. “You can’t get it done with wind and solar projects. You cannot generate that much energy. That’s where hydrogen comes in.”

(This news story was  first published in New Jersey Monitor )

(Photo Credit: Markus Distelrath /PEXEL)

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