The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is likely to remove green hydrogen from its pivotal plan designed to cut greenhouse gas emissions from the power industry, as per insider reports.
This decision stems from a belief within US government circles that the development speed of the technology may be insufficient to widely decarbonize the electricity industry. Extraction of hydrogen fuel from water using zero-emission energy sources such as wind and solar has yet to gain ground.
Sources suggest the pending EPA decision is part of President Joe Biden’s climate change strategy and could be released this week.
Originally, the EPA’s power plant proposal pushed for fossil fuel power plant operators to use extremely low-emission hydrogen for fuel or install Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS) technology to remove CO2 from a plant’s emissions.
The removal of hydrogen usage could legally fortify the rule, as critics have questioned the commercial viability of the technology in the given timeline— 2030 for gas plants, and 2032 for coal plants.
This rule is part of a slew of regulations the Biden administration intends to secure in the imminent weeks. The objective is to protect them from potential overturning under the Congressional Review Act, should the administration change in the upcoming elections.
Last month, the EPA restricted the scope of the power plant regulation by excluding existing gas plants from the standards. This action was a response to utilities that deemed the initial proposal unfeasible.
