Photo courtesy of plugpower.com
Harrisburg, Pa. — Energy Future PA warned on Friday that Pennsylvania could be at risk of losing $1.7 billion in previously approved federal funding for two regional clean hydrogen hubs — a move that would likely kill the projects, along with thousands of jobs.
The nonpartisan coalition pointed to multiple news reports and a widely circulated spreadsheet that showed both of Pennsylvania’s proposed regional hydrogen hubs on the chopping block by the U.S. Department of Energy.
Two years ago, Energy Future PA cheered the announcement that Pennsylvania would benefit from federal funding for two regional hydrogen hub projects — the Mid-Atlantic Clean Hydrogen Hub (MACH2) project in eastern Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey; and the Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub (ARCH2) project in western Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Kentucky and Ohio.
However, recent reports indicate the U.S. Department of Energy is planning to terminate the full $7 billion in federal funding for all regional clean hydrogen hub projects across the country — including both ARCH2 and MACH2.
The proposed cuts are part of a larger plan to gut $23 billion in funding for over 600 projects nationwide, according to the Clean Air Task Force.