Southeast Coalition Submits Bid for Clean Hydrogen Hub to DOE
April 13, 2023
by APPA News
April 13, 2023
A coalition of Southeast utilities submitted an application to the Department of Energy for funding to build a green hydrogen network that would span six states.
The Southeast Hydrogen Hub includes Dominion Energy, Duke Energy, Louisville Gas & Electric and Kentucky Utilities, Southern Company, the Tennessee Valley Authority, and Battelle Memorial Institute, a private, non-profit science and technology development company that is the lead entity in the coalition.
The goal of the Southeast Hydrogen Hub coalition is to develop a regional energy ecosystem that would allow members to deploy green hydrogen as a decarbonization solution for customers and communities, the group said in a statement. A Southeast hydrogen hub could assist in decarbonization efforts in the Southeast and help bring robust economic development benefits and jobs to the region, the group added.
The Department of Energy has made $8 billion available for the formation of regional clean hydrogen hubs under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The Department of Energy is expected to make final funding decisions this fall.
The Southeast Hydrogen Hub was one of 79 potential hubs to submit initial concept papers to the Department of Energy in 2022. In late December, the Department issued notices to 33 applicants encouraging them to proceed with their submissions.
“We are heartened by the Department of Energy’s encouraging notification in response to the coalition’s concept paper and urge the Department to select the Southeast Hydrogen Hub coalition for funding,” a group of Southeast lawmakers led by senators Jon Ossoff (D-GA) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC), said in a letter to the Department of Energy in February. “We stand ready to provide long-term support for the Southeast Hydrogen Hub’s implementation and growth,” they wrote.
Recently, a group of seven Northeast states announced they submitted a bid for a Northeast Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub.