Last week, the White House announced that seven regional clean hydrogen hubs were selected to receive $7 billion in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding to accelerate the domestic market for low-cost, clean hydrogen. The Western Interstate Hydrogen Hub, which includes New Mexico, was not among them.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham says the group, which includes Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming is disappointed but not deterred regarding the future of hydrogen-based energy production in the region.
She says the states will keep moving forward with the private sector entities who are already committed to clean energy.
“We collectively believe in the mountain west because we’re out there sort of on our own and have demonstrated incredible capacity and the mountain west, with the lead of New Mexico, we have all the right geology,” she said. “My gut tells me their sense was that we could do it without them. While I think it ought to be a full on partnership, everybody put their assets together, we’re going to keep working and fighting to do the work that we think is right for the country and the state.”
The clean hydrogen hub application development process created public-private collaborations that did not previously exist. Project partners and state officials worked together over the course of 12 months to identify critical projects that would improve investment and development of the state’s burgeoning hydrogen economy.
However many environmental groups say they opposethe hydrogen hubs. They point to studies that say more than 99% of hydrogen produced today uses fossil fuels in a process that harms human health and emits carbon dioxide.
