At the Kentucky Oil and Gas Association’s first hydrogen conference in Louisville, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear praised the potential for economic growth of hydrogen in front of a crowded room.
At the conference “Blue Gas in the Bluegrass,” which focused on the development of hydrogen infrastructure as a low-carbon fuel source for use in industry, transportation, and power generation, Energy and Environment Secretary Rebecca Goodman and Beshear gave the opening comments.
In his remarks, Beshear made no mention of the need to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels or climate change. Instead, he focused on the potential employment the hydrogen market may offer the state.
Though there have been false beginnings in the past and a number of obstacles still stand in the way of making hydrogen cost-effective and scaleable, there is a widespread belief that hydrogen holds the key to decarbonizing the economy.
Electricity is used to split water (H20) into hydrogen and oxygen in the basic process for producing hydrogen. Experts describe the various amounts of carbon intensity required to produce hydrogen using a color-coded method.
In Kentucky, though, the movement to make hydrogen the fuel of the future is picking up speed. Beshear has been eager to grow the market in Kentucky because he sees hydrogen as a component of the state’s energy strategy.
As the father of two children, Beshear claimed that the development of hydrogen infrastructure is personal to him. He made it clear that he wants his children to take advantage of all Kentucky’s economic opportunities.
The federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed last year allocated $8 billion for the construction of local clean hydrogen hubs around the nation. The Appalachian hydrogen hub and the Midwestern Hydrogen Coalition are two regional hubs that the state has already joined.
