Washington, Oregon and Idaho are preparing a joint proposal to become a regional hydrogen manufacturing and distribution hub.
The three state governments — acting as leaders of the public-private Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Association — aim to have a proposal ready sometime in September to submit to the U.S. Department of Energy to obtain part of $8 billion in federal funding being made available to develop hydrogen hubs nationwide.
On Monday, the association announced that its 18-member board elected Washington Department of Commerce Director Lisa Brown as its chair and Oregon Department of Energy Director Janine Benner as vice-chair. Idaho’s government is represented in the group’s Advisory Committee.
“We understand how green hydrogen fits into a modern, decarbonized economy that is possible today — no other region is as advanced in this area,” Brown said in a press release.
“This work will lay a foundation for this important decarbonization fuel in our region — one that can help us meet our mission to shape an equitable clean energy transition for Oregon and beyond.”
Other interests represented on the board include the Douglas County Public Utility District, Tacoma Power, several labor unions, some hydrogen and environmental organizations, Amazon, BP America, Puget Sound Power, plus the Chehalis and Cowlitz tribes. Several research organizations and labs, including the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, also participate in the association.
The association’s board also includes a representative from Australia-based Fortescue Future Industries, which is exploring building a green hydrogen plant on the site of a disused coal mine in Centralia, Wash. (See Australian Company Eyes Wash. Coal Mine as Green Hydrogen Site.)
This alliance wants to tap into the $8 billion fund that DOE has set aside to create four to eight regional hydrogen hubs across the nation. Each hub would get $1 billion to $2 billion. Washington, Oregon and Idaho are aggressively pursuing that money.
DOE expects to receive roughly 100 proposals by September. No timetable is set for the agency’s decisions on how to allocate the $8 billion.
In Washington, one hydrogen manufacturing plant owned by the Douglas County PUD is scheduled to go online in East Wenatchee in mid-2023. The Port of Seattle is also studying whether it wants to get into hydrogen manufacturing and distribution. Refueling stations for hydrogen-powered vehicles are in the works for East Wenatchee and the transit authority in Chehalis and Centralia
Meanwhile, Obsidian Renewables of Lake Oswego, Ore., plans to build hydrogen production plants at existing industrial parks in Hermiston, Ore., and Moses Lake, Wash. These would supply a proposed pipeline system that would terminate at points in The Dalles, Pendleton and Prineville in Oregon, and in Wenatchee and Spokane in Washington. Another pipeline would extend to Lewiston, Idaho. One connecting pipeline would go through the Tri-Cities, which is the second-most populated area in eastern Washington behind Spokane. (See Company Looks to Build Hydrogen Projects in Eastern Ore., Wash.)