A factsheet summarizing key takeaways and policy recommendations can be found here.

Policy Recommendations

Localize positive impacts for communities and the workforce

• CEQ and other federal agencies should provide clear, transparent guidance on Justice40. They can do so by indicating, for example, how benefits are quantified and in what geographic radius the “communities” are defined.
• The Texas legislature should create a funding program to support paid local apprenticeship programs focused on clean hydrogen, covering curriculum development and coordination with community colleges, labor and trade associations, and private training programs relating to the energy transition.
• Congress should establish a funding program through DOE and EPA that facilitates engagement between developers of hydrogen infrastructure and communities—especially environmental justice communities, tribal communities, and energy communities. This program should focus geographically on proposed hydrogen hubs and/or on natural gas facilities or other existing infrastructure that will be utilized for hydrogen projects in the future. Information gained from listening sessions across all communities should be aggregated into a comprehensive report on existing community concerns and opportunities relating to clean hydrogen, while offering recommendations to update regulations and funding implementation guidelines to better meet the needs of communities.
• Congress should expand Department of Education resources for career and technical education that can support recent graduates and mid-career workers in skilled trades to acquire expertise relevant to the clean hydrogen industry, modeled on the Innovation and Modernization discretionary grant program under Perkins V, and accessible to educational institutions in Texas offering coursework under the Texas Career and Technical Education (CTE) Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM)/Renewable Energy Career Cluster. Congress should also fund K–12 outreach programs that educate young people—especially those in marginalized communities—on career opportunities and skills needs in the sector.

Maximize the climate benefit of shifting to hydrogen

• In future rulemaking (whether in the context of power plant emissions or other sources, EPA should adopt a similar approach to the IRA’s “qualified clean hydrogen,” allowing a wide range of technologies to achieve an emission reducing low-carbon hydrogen standard and ratcheting down the standard with time as the hydrogen industry gains its footing.
• The Texas legislature should pass additional legislation to integrate the production, distribution, and storage of hydrogen, including hydrogen produced via an electrolyzer, into regulations that apply to natural gas and other fuels, such as the Public Utility Regulatory Act or other relevant sections of the administrative code.
• Congress should expand the 45X advanced manufacturing production credit to include electrolyzers, treatment, processing, and hydrogen-powered compression equipment production.
• Congress should provide additional funding and guidance for research, development, demonstration, and deployment (RDD&D) efforts at DOE for innovative production, transport, and utilization pathways of clean hydrogen. This should include new funding through the Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management for developing innovative processes to produce hydrogen, including those that utilize existing fossil energy resources like methane pyrolysis and biotechnology. Additionally, this should include increasing existing funding to the Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy Office of Hydrogen Fuel Cell Technologies for RDD&D for reducing costs and improving the efficiency of electrolyzers, retrofitting existing infrastructure to transport hydrogen, and integrating hydrogen in the industrial processes of end users, particularly the chemical, fertilizer, refinery, and primary steel sectors. Finally, this funding should include support for commercialization of proven technologies.
• Congress should establish a performance standard through the EPA for energy intensive industries to reduce industrial emissions. This performance standard should be designed to encourage industrial hydrogen users to shift to lower-carbon intensity hydrogen, especially in the petroleum and chemical refining and fertilizer production.

Facilitate the transport and distribution of clean hydrogen

• The Argonne National Laboratory should update and modernize its Heavy-Duty Refueling Station Analysis Model to prioritize hydrogen fueling station design with a focus on standardization, ease of deployment, and cost reduction.
• Congress should clarify that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has jurisdiction to regulate the siting of interstate hydrogen infrastructure (e.g., pipelines, compressor stations, and storage facilities), inclusive of 100 percent hydrogen, as well as interstate hydrogen commerce. This jurisdiction should exclude intrastate hydrogen pipeline infrastructure (e.g., pipelines, compressor stations, and storage facilities) not part of the interstate project which initiates the FERC permitting review.
• FERC should provide guidance to states to facilitate the development of transparent, consistent regulations for new hydrogen pipeline construction and interconnection, such as developing a model rule that states could use to facilitate the development of their own regulations.

Accelerate clean hydrogen demand

• EPA should increase the stringency of greenhouse gas emissions regulations for the power sector. The regulations should be inclusive of the deployment of hydrogen in the power. However, EPA should consider in these that strict, highly prescriptive rules on an early stage developing industry like clean hydrogen could prevent it from developing at the necessary pace and scale.
• Congress should implement an economy-wide carbon price.
• Congress should establish a Low Carbon Fuel Standard, or clean fuel standard, for the transportation sector consistent with achieving net-zero emissions by midcentury. The new technology-neutral fuel standard should offer an “opt in” approach for aviation and maritime fuels until they achieve a specific milestone (e.g., a certain level of market penetration or a certain number of years after enactment). Furthermore, it should provide compliance flexibility by allowing credit trading and credits for captured carbon and direct air capture. The lifecycle carbon intensity of hydrogen production pathways should be considered in its design.
• Houston, along with surrounding cities, should create a matching program to connect clean hydrogen producers with potential customers who are willing to pay a premium for low-emissions hydrogen. This program could be modeled on DOE’s H₂ Matchmaker program.
• Congress should provide additional funding through the Department of Energy (DOE), distinct from the regional clean hydrogen hubs program, to support projects that demonstrate end-use industrial applications of hydrogen, including in the production of steel, glass, and chemicals, as well as projects in the transportation sector. Such funding should include the Industrial Technology Validation Program at the Industrial Efficiency and Decarbonization Office. Expanding the scope of this pilot program to include project funding, in addition to monitoring and validation, can spur projects to validate these technologies and help companies make confident investments to integrate hydrogen into their operations. Criteria for funding should prioritize projects with the greatest commercial viability and path to rapid scalability. Developers should make every reasonable effort to enter into community workforce agreements within the Justice40 framework as they build out these projects.
• The DOE’s Office of Clean Energy Deployment should follow through on its commitment to invest $1 billion in pay-for-difference contracts and other demand-side incentives. Additionally, Congress should provide additional support for this program to better align with the scale of market opportunity. Pay-for-difference contracts, in particular, would help to establish a transparent market price for clean hydrogen to support cost competitiveness.

Conclusion

Texas is already positioned as a global leader in energy production and export; the state now faces an opportunity to become a global clean energy leader, in part through clean hydrogen production, distribution, and utilization. In order to lead, however, the state must prioritize the needs of communities and workers in the low-carbon transition, including through education and outreach, workforce development, and authentic engagement with communities at the project level throughout the development process. Additionally, federal support from Congress, through direction for agencies like DOE and FERC is crucial. It is these agencies that are tasked with effectively deploying of federal funds, clarifying regulatory authority, and shortening permitting timelines. All of this work is essential to support the industry’s ability to attract top talent, contributing to the success of the communities that build and host projects. Ultimately, as emphasized by participants in the June 2023 roundtable, a holistic approach to support the simultaneous scale up of the entire hydrogen value chain is necessary to truly capitalize on its potential to decarbonize crucial industries and support the long-term growth and sustainability of Texas’s economy.

View more from the C2ES Regional Roundtable series here.

The post Firing Up Clean Hydrogen in Texas appeared first on Center for Climate and Energy Solutions.

A factsheet summarizing key takeaways and policy recommendations can be found here.

Policy Recommendations

Facilitate the geologic sequestration of carbon dioxide

• Wyoming’s Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) should develop a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for geologic sequestration of carbon dioxide to prevent subsurface conflicts among owners and prospective developers and guarantee that access rights are consistent across state, private, and federal lands.
• Congress should create categorical exclusions for certain activities (e.g., small well design and injection modifications) under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) that can streamline geologic storage projects without compromising the safety or environmental impacts of these projects.
• State and federal agencies, including the Wyoming DEQ and BLM, should establish plans for corrective action on existing and legacy wells that can be repurposed for safe carbon injection and storage.
• State and federal agencies, along with academic institutions, should establish educational campaigns to create awareness about the process that project developers must go through to ensure the safety and integrity of carbon injection and storage operations, as well as the rigorous process that project developers must go through to be granted permits.
• State and federal agencies should explore ways to address long-term liability for stored carbon using a shared liability model similar to Wyoming’s experience with the abandoned mine land (AML) program.

Support the expansion of a low-carbon energy system to ensure the integrity of DAC projects

• The Wyoming Energy Authority, working with utilities, should develop a plan for building an energy system that can respond to the increasing demand of low-carbon energy from major consumers, including DAC facilities.
• Wyoming should leverage existing infrastructure by adopting CCUS retrofits on existing fossil-based power plants to increase their competitiveness to export clean power to other states with net-zero targets and provide carbon-free power to DAC facilities in the state.
• Congress should enact permitting reform legislation that can enable expansion of power transmission and create economic opportunities for DAC developers instead of relying on developing “renewable islands” just to power these facilities.

Responsibly site DAC projects

• State agencies should identify low-impact sites, including previously industrially disturbed lands, and require project developers to prioritize these sites for their projects.
• Wyoming’s DEQ should develop guidance that provides detailed information about how new projects can be sited efficiently, including considerations for land use, capacity, and conservation.
• State agencies should require project developers to demonstrate specific community benefits—such as job creation, workforce development programs, improved transportation or housing infrastructure, or access to renewable energy—in their project proposals.

Maximize economic opportunities for developing a regional DAC hub in Wyoming

• The Wyoming Business Council should coordinate with the state’s community colleges to characterize the benefits and risks of DAC projects to local communities, estimate job opportunities for local workforces, and develop training programs necessary to build needed competencies for the carbon management sector.
• The White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) should develop an outreach plan to introduce local communities to Justice40 initiative and available tools such as the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool (CEJST) that can clarify the geographic spread of “disadvantaged communities” and help local stakeholders better evaluate the value propositions of new projects.
• Companies and governments should consult tribal nations early in the project development process and work collaboratively to explore economic development opportunities for tribal communities along the carbon management value chain (e.g., equipment manufacturing, capture facilities, pipelines, storage sites).
• Wyoming—in partnership with project developers, labor organizations, and community colleges—should develop apprenticeship programs that can support the transition of traditional fossil energy workers to carbon management jobs to take advantage of the existing skills of fossil energy workers.
• To attract and retain talent, Wyoming should offer funding to help local governments and developers coordinate housing, transportation, childcare, and other wraparound support for workers on carbon management projects, especially those that will be sited in areas remote from population centers.

Conclusion

Wyoming’s legacy of leadership in the energy industry over the past century positions the state to also be a leader in the emerging carbon management sector, particularly by utilizing its existing natural resources for geologic storage and employing its skilled workforce in the development of direct air capture projects. Significant regulatory advantages over other states like Class VI primacy and transparent pore space ownership regulations, paired with recent federal incentives, can help Wyoming jumpstart its DAC industry in the coming years. However, in order to truly maximize this opportunity, state and federal policy must lend additional support for the build-out and integration of low-carbon energy generation, harmonization of pore space access rights, and integration of workforce and community development into all project development.

View more from the C2ES Regional Roundtable series here.

The post Setting the Stage for Direct Air Capture in Wyoming appeared first on Center for Climate and Energy Solutions.

Policy Recommendations

Maximize the Opportunities of Louisiana’s Existing Assets: Workforce, Ports, Shipping and Vessel Operations, and Manufacturing

• The state should conduct a study to evaluate transferrable skills in Louisiana’s existing workforce (especially in the oil and gas sector) and how these skills correspond to the skills needed to succeed in the offshore wind industry.
• Louisiana’s state universities and Community and Technical College System, in collaboration with companies across the offshore wind industry, should create short-term certificate programs that can be ‘stacked’ to provide an alternative to the current higher education system.
• State and local governments should conduct outreach programs to encourage young people in Louisiana to enter skilled trades, with a focus on marginalized communities.
• The state should conduct a state-level mapping and strategic planning exercise that maps out the unique advantages and roles each of Louisiana’s ports could play in the offshore wind industry.
• Congress should provide additional funds through MARAD to support ports making infrastructure improvements specifically to accommodate offshore wind.
• The state should create an education and outreach program for vessel companies with operations in Louisiana about opportunities in offshore wind industry and ways to get involved.
• Congress or the U.S. Department of Energy should create a funding opportunity for shipbuilding companies to de-risk early investments into vessel construction, including minimum payments to offset unplanned downtime and/or loan guarantees.
• The federal government should create grant and loan programs to help offshore wind component manufacturers increase their production capacity, for instance by integrating automated processes into their manufacturing facilities.

Meet the Needs of Louisiana’s Offshore Wind Industry: Create a Long-Term Project Pipeline, Utilize Effective Community Engagement and Benefits Sharing, and De-Risk Supply Chain Investments

• BOEM should announce forthcoming lease areas on a predictable timeline to reduce uncertainty in the industry.
• The state, in consultation with the industry, should create accessible outreach materials to educate the general public in Louisiana on offshore wind. These materials should be written in layman’s terms and highlight costs and benefits.
• BOEM and the state government should work to aggregate information collected from stakeholder engagement exercises conducted by companies pre-leasing to be able to have winning bidders use upon granting of a lease.
• The Loan Programs Office or Department of Defense should provide loan guarantees or minimum payments for companies engaged in the offshore wind supply chain to de-risk their up-front capital investments.

Address Remaining Uncertainties, Including Planning for End Use, Exploring Environmental Considerations, and Managing for the Gulf of Mexico’s Unique Conditions

• Louisiana should formalize the 5 GW offshore wind procurement goal by 2030 established in the Climate Action Plan into a procurement target supported by legislation.
• Louisiana should engage in MISO’s Long-Range Transmission Planning process, with particular emphasis on connecting offshore wind power to users.
• The Louisiana Public Service Commission should open a docket on offshore wind as soon as possible to consider whether and how to connect new projects that may be built in the Lake Charles lease area.
• The state should conduct preemptive transmission planning study for offshore wind.
• Louisiana should work with Texas to create a pool of funds that can support research into wildlife populations in the Gulf of Mexico and strategies to reduce impacts to these populations.
• State regulations relating to offshore wind development should set best management practices for operations, including setting vessel speeds and wildlife monitoring.
• NOAA should fund studies to map migratory bird pathways in the Gulf more precisely to support more wildlife-conscious design and deployment.
• Congress and the Louisiana state legislature should each pass legislation that would direct a dedicated percentage of revenue from Louisiana offshore wind leases in both federal and state waters to coastal restoration efforts.
• NOAA should fund hurricane studies to map conditions at the level of granularity specific to offshore wind power generation to support design for the Gulf.

Conclusion

Nationally, momentum is accelerating for offshore wind, with more than 40 GW in the pipeline for development by 2040, and commitments across states covering both project procurement and supply chain development. Louisiana has a tremendous opportunity to both develop its own offshore wind projects and supply vessels, components, inputs, and skilled workers to support projects around the country. Across Louisiana, policymakers, communities, local businesses, educational providers, and economic development organizations are excited about the opportunity offshore wind could bring and are preparing for the industry’s growth in the state. The state’s legacy of expertise in offshore energy development, shipbuilding, and manufacturing could allow its companies and workers to lead the nation in developing this nascent industry. However, in order to realize its potential, significant up-front investments are required to prepare the region’s infrastructure, manufacturing capacity, and workforce to accommodate the unique needs of the offshore wind industry. Successfully preparing for offshore wind in Louisiana will necessitate addressing a number of uncertainties, including the need for a long-term project pipeline, as well as a long-term plan to connect power to users in a way that is equitable, efficient, and prescient. With strategic planning and proactive investments, Louisiana can capitalize on several key advantages to be a global leader in the offshore wind industry.

View more from the C2ES Regional Roundtable series here.

The post Securing Louisiana’s Role in the Offshore Wind Industry appeared first on Center for Climate and Energy Solutions.

Policy Recommendations

Collect and Disseminate Data and Information

• Federal and state agencies should fund the collection and dissemination of neighborhood-level data on projected climate impacts such as extreme heat, flooding, and sea level rise.
• Corporations should share downscaled data relating to physical climate impacts with local small businesses and NGOs, when they collect it. Federal agencies should offer grants or other incentives to support companies in sharing this information.
• Federal, state, and local investments in infrastructure should make funding contingent on the integration of future conditions—including projected climate impacts—into planning to facilitate resilient infrastructure construction.
• The state government should facilitate regional coordination among local governments or local NGOs in partnership with local governments to identify opportunities for synergy in local zoning ordinances, particularly with regards to mitigation and resilience-related provisions. Detailed information, including key differentiations between neighboring ordinances, should be made accessible to developers.
• FEMA and NOAA should collaborate to offer locally-specific data and safety materials on climate impacts like extreme heat to employers and workers. Local governments should supplement these materials with outreach and communications strategies designed to target local populations most effectively, taking into account linguistic and cultural nuance.

Incorporate Equity

• Resilience measures focused on protecting individuals should specifically focus on meeting the needs of the most vulnerable communities on the front lines of climate impacts: majority-Black and/or Hispanic populations, LGBTQIA+, elderly, disabled, low-income, or immigrant communities.
• State and local governments should incorporate education on climate-related human health impacts into public education programs and offer resources on outdoor safety in extreme heat, natural disaster preparedness, best practices for home energy resilience, and local government resources for enhancing resilience.
• Rating agencies should provide clearer guidance on how resilience planning and investments—or lack thereof—affect bond rating assessments.

Build Resilient Infrastructure

• The state—or, when impossible, local governments— should convene local government and other public and private sector partners in applications for economic development grants to build cohesive business and government support and increase competitiveness of grant applications.
• Where funding is limited, decisionmakers should prioritize infrastructure investments that support both mitigation and resilience goals, and when possible, should co-locate emissions reducing infrastructure with livability improvements.
• Both “green” and “gray” infrastructure is needed to support making South Florida more resilient to the impacts of climate change; Proposals to develop infrastructure to protect local assets from sea level rise, extreme weather, and other climate impacts should employ both forms of infrastructure where applicable.

Build an Ecosystem of Climate Innovation

• Companies should incorporate incentives that produce climate mitigation and resilience benefits into employee benefits to both attract new workers and support existing workers’ communities.
• The state should update building codes to set stringent energy efficiency targets for large buildings and commercial facilities and require resilient development.
• Local utilities and the state should pursue policies and programs to enable significant build-out of carbon-free electricity generation within the state.

Conclusion

Investing in climate resilience goes hand in hand with smart, long-term economic development. Proactive investments in resilience can support local economic growth and strengthen communities. In southeast Florida, while much progress has been made to date, more work remains ahead to prepare the region for the coming impacts of climate change. This is imperative to protect people and ecosystems from climate-fueled disasters, sea level rise, extreme heat, and other climate impacts, while also reducing risk for public and private investments in local infrastructure and assets. Ensuring these investments focus on equity and on bolstering communities is the best way to create a resilient economy for all residents of southeast Florida.

View more from the C2ES Regional Roundtable series here.

The post Enhancing Climate Resilience and Economic Development in Southeast Florida appeared first on Center for Climate and Energy Solutions.

The post Spinning the Mid-Atlantic Offshore Wind Industry into Economic Opportunity appeared first on Center for Climate and Energy Solutions.

Electrifying the medium- and heavy-duty portion of the transportation sector, however, faces some unique challenges. These include higher up-front costs for vehicles and associated charging/refueling infrastructure, a lack of widespread access to charging and refueling infrastructure, strain on local electric grids, reduced cargo capacity due to the size and weight of batteries, conflicts between recharging/refueling needs and regulations on drivers’ hours of service, and the upstream emissions associated with hydrogen fuel production. At the same time, MHD vehicle electrification also presents significant opportunities. In addition to the environmental and public health benefits, MHD vehicle electrification could offer greater long-term fuel cost savings and enhanced community resilience.

Policy Recommendations:

Numerous federal and state regulations, incentives, and programs are already in place to support the electrification of the MHD vehicle fleet. These include federal emissions standards, state clean truck regulations, federal funding programs for innovation and deployment, and state rebate programs. Still, additional policy measures are necessary to overcome the range of challenges facing MHD vehicle electrification, including:

Supporting technology development and innovation: Congress should provide additional funding to support innovations in battery efficiency and to improve green hydrogen production efficiency and costs. The Department of Energy (DOE) should also conduct battery-swapping pilots for federal and commercial MHD fleets to explore cost and performance feasibility.

Expanding accessible MHD charging and refueling infrastructure: Congress and state legislatures should increase the amount of, and expand eligibility for, commercial charging/refueling infrastructure tax credits. Congress should also fund grants to enable utilities to make grid upgrades to support charging infrastructure, and the DOE should prioritize clean hydrogen development along freight corridors. In addition, federal regulators should update regulations, including on drivers’ hours of service, to accommodate charging times and other technology-specific constraints.

Accelerating vehicle deployment: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) should strengthen federal emissions standards to reach 100 percent zero-emissions MHD vehicle sales no later than 2040, and earlier where possible. Congress should also provide block grants for states and municipalities to replace government MHD vehicles with zero-emission vehicles, prioritizing high-pollution areas. To overcome potential wariness about newer technologies, the Departments of Transportation, Labor, and Education should fund and provide education, outreach, and workforce training initiatives to fleet owners, operators, drivers, and service technicians on zero-emission vehicle operation, charging management, and cost-benefit analysis.

Proactive policy at all levels is needed to accelerate the decarbonization of the medium- and heavy-duty vehicle fleet and the transition to a zero-emission transportation future.

The post Clearing Roadblocks for Zero-Emission Medium- and Heavy-Duty Transportation appeared first on Center for Climate and Energy Solutions.