Several environmental groups are opposing Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s Hydrogen Hub Act.
In September, the governor unveiled her proposal to make New Mexico a national hub in hydrogen production.
KSFR’s Kevin Meerschaert has this report.
The plan would set provisions to regulate the industry while also providing legal stability for investors.
Hydrogen has been touted as a way to decarbonize everything from electricity development to transportation.
But some groups are questioning if hydrogen production is really the environmental solution supporters claim it is.
Jim Walsh is Senior Energy Policy Analyst for Food and Water Watch.
He says it’s a myth that hydrogen is a clean burning fuel.
“This is another misleading lie among a long history of misinformation perpetuated by the fossil fuel industry,” he said. “The industry ignores the full impact of their hydrogen build out and dupe and mislead the public about the real dangers posed by hydrogen itself.”
The opponents say most hydrogen is produced from fracked gas and the Governor’s proposal would lead to more fracking in New Mexico. Which, they say, would lead to more dangers like earthquakes.
Lujan Grisham has said New Mexico is in a great position to build a hydrogen hub which she says could lead to tens of thousands of jobs.
UPDATE- A statement from the Governor's Press Office.
"Hydrogen must be a part of the planet’s climate solutions and efforts to reach net zero emissions. Climate experts agree that the energy challenges facing the world cannot be solved by any single approach – that’s why New Mexico is developing a robust portfolio of clean energy solutions: solar, wind, geothermal – and now hydrogen. All of our climate work is done with our goals in mind – and we know that a clean hydrogen economy gets us to net zero by 2050."