A bill is headed to Washington Gov. Jay Inslee to create a new state office to support development of green hydrogen and other alternative fuels.
The state Senate unanimously approved Senate Bill 5910 on Wednesday, after the House passed it Monday 96-2 with some minor tweaks.
“Renewable hydrogen is an exciting part of our future,” bill sponsor Sen. Reuven Carlyle (D) said prior to Wednesday’s floor vote.
The bill appears to boost Washington’s prospects to receive money from the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to create one of four regional hydrogen hubs in the nation. (See Fast-moving Bill Seeks to Win Hydrogen Hub for Wash.)
The proposed Office of Renewable Fuels in the Washington Department of Commerce would collaborate with other state agencies to accelerate market development of renewable fuel and electrolytic hydrogen projects along their full life cycle, in part by supporting research and development around production, distribution and end uses. It would also identify ways to best deploy the fuels to support the state’s climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts.
The new office is also expected to help boost job creation while partnering with “overburdened” communities to ensure they benefit from clean fuels development. It would also review the state’s existing renewable fuels and hydrogen initiatives and support public-private opportunities that encourage adoption of clean fuels. The office is expected to coordinate its efforts with local state and federal governments, the private sector and universities.
The bill would also allow proposed hydrogen production projects the choice of applying for permits from the state Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council, rather than local governments. (See Bill to Expand Powers of Wash. Siting Council Passes Senate.) It would also authorize municipal utilities and public utility districts to produce, use, sell and distribute hydrogen and other renewable fuels.
The legislation could help Washington land one of the four hydrogen hubs outlined in the IIJA, enacted last year. The federal law allocates $8 billion for the creation of at least four hydrogen hubs across the country, as well as $1 billion for the domestic manufacture of the electrolyzers needed to convert water to green hydrogen. The U.S. Department of Energy will solicit proposals for the hubs until May 15 and select the four sites a year later.
Washington has one hydrogen production plant under construction near East Wenatchee, which will use Columbia River water as its source. The plant, to be operated by Douglas County Public Utility District near the Wells Dam, is scheduled to go online late this year. A hydrogen fueling station is on the drawing board for near East Wanatchee, and another is in the works for public transit buses in Lewis County, about 25 miles south of Olympia.