Several local industrial and energy companies, including Whatcom’s utility provider Puget Sound Energy, are supporting a brand-new advocacy organization: the Washington Green Hydrogen Alliance.
WGHA, announced Wednesday, works to promote “Evergreen Hydrogen,” a fossil fuel-free energy developed and produced in Washington.
Evergreen hydrogen is developed from freshwater and renewable energy, like wind turbines, to create electrical currents that split water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen. Unlike traditional hydrogen production, the only emission is water vapor.
“We call it ‘evergreen’ because it will never emit any CO2 when it’s being made or when it’s being used,” according to the WGHA website. “[It’s] a limitless renewable resource we can use to decarbonize our state’s economy and transportation sectors.”
Washington’s transportation sector accounts for almost half of the greenhouse gas emissions in the state, according to the latest data from the state Department of Ecology (DOE).
“We passed a law that Washington state is actually required to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent by 2030, and then get to net-zero [emissions] by 2050,” Gov. Jay Inslee’s senior policy advisor on energy, Anna Lising, told Cascadia Daily News in December. “We realistically can’t do that without decarbonizing our transportation sector.”
The state is not on track to reach its 2030 goal, according to DOE.
“Hydrogen is a crucial element in most strategies to achieve net-zero standing,” according to a 2021 report from the Hydrogen Council and McKinsey & Company. The report details the role green hydrogen can play in reducing global greenhouse gases by targeting the steel and cement industries, as well as major transportation like trucks, cargo ships and airplanes.
Several local businesses are already supporting the production of green hydrogen, according to the WGHA, including shipbuilder All American Marine and Philips 66 in Ferndale.
All American Marine, based in Bellingham Bay, built the first hydrogen fuel cell vessel in the U.S., while Philips 66, BP Cherry Point and Anacortes refineries Marathon and Holly Frontier, are generating green energy jobs.
“Green hydrogen made right here in Washington … is an enormous, zero-carbon opportunity for our climate, air, water, and economy,” said Tim Zenk, WGHA executive director. “This is our chance to nurture a new industry here in Washington while helping those beyond our state’s borders to do their part to tackle climate change affordably.”
