US Dept. Of Energy Awards Western PA/WV/OH ARCH2 Hydrogen Hub $30 Million

On July 31, the US Department of Energy awarded the Appalachian Hydrogen Hub—also known as the Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub (ARCH2), led by Battelle—with $30 million for the first tranche of funding (out of the total project federal cost share of up to $925 million) to begin Phase 1 activities. 

The Appalachian Hydrogen Hub will help the nation lead in the advancement of the clean hydrogen economy while reducing emissions and pollution that has long affected air quality in Appalachian communities. 

The Hub intends to reduce CO2 emissions by 9 million metric tons per year—equivalent to the annual emissions of more than 2 million gasoline-powered cars. 

During Phase 1, which is expected to last up to 36 months, the Appalachian Hydrogen Hub plans to conduct planning, analysis, and design activities in addition to ongoing stakeholder and community engagement across WV, OH, and PA.  

Click Here to view the project fact sheet and community benefits commitments summary. Click Here to learn more about engagement opportunities. 

Reactions

Earlier this year, the Ohio River Valley Institute delivered a letter to the Department of Energy on behalf of fifty four Appalachian organizations and community groups calling for the suspension of the Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub (ARCH2), citing an extreme lack of transparency and meaningful community engagement during project negotiations.

The development of the Appalachian hydrogen hub stands to raise costs for families and set the region on a path of economic stagnation and continued methane emissions. 

Alternative investments in distributed generation and energy efficiency would generate thousands of jobs and cut power sector emissions by 97% by 2050 at a total cost 13% lower than investment in blue hydrogen and carbon capture technologies, according to research from the Ohio River Valley Institute.

“This award represents a continued commitment to invest in a natural gas industry that has added to the pollution and health burdens in the region while failing to deliver any measurable growth in jobs, income, and population,” said Sean O’Leary, Senior Researcher with the Ohio River Valley Institute. “At a time when we should be pursuing proven, cost-effective, job-producing decarbonization models, this decision sends us further down the path of dependency on natural gas that will result in increased taxes and utility bills.”

Recent findings provide further evidence that the leading gas-producing counties in Appalachia have experienced a decline in job growth, income growth and population and the hydrogen hub is unlikely to reverse this trend. 

Most employment associated with the hub would be temporary construction jobs, and downstream growth is projected to be minimal as the extreme costs associated with hydrogen and carbon capture discourage new industries.

Alison L. Steele, Executive Director of the Environmental Health Project, issued this statement--

“The DOE’s decision to move forward with certain ARCH2 projects that produce blue hydrogen sourced from fossil fuels shows that the federal government has not yet considered the long-term public health consequences of these projects. 

“The blue hydrogen lifecycle is far from clean. It begins with the extraction of fossil fuels—typically shale gas fracked near communities already burdened by health impacts from this heavy-polluting industry. 

“Blue hydrogen’s reliance on shale gas wells as feed stock negates any downstream benefits in emissions.

“EHP strongly recommends that blue hydrogen projects in the ARCH2 plan not be approved or funded with taxpayer dollars. 

“Public funding should be targeted to a just transition away from fossil fuels and toward renewable energies, which offer greater public health protections and more opportunities for job growth and consumer cost reductions than energies sourced from methane gas. 

“Further, for any ARCH2 projects, transparency and community participation in the process must be improved. 

“Anticipated health risks of projects and related infrastructure, including the shale gas feedstock sourced for blue hydrogen projects, must be fully assessed and mitigated before any of these projects break ground, and all potential future health risks must be communicated to frontline residents so that they have an opportunity to respond and protect themselves from harms going forward."  

Click Here for more on blue hydrogen health impacts.

[Posted: August 1, 2024]  PA Environment Digest