Leaders disappointed after Southwestern Pennsylvania passed over as hydrogen hub
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Some people call hydrogen the clean fuel of the future, and Southwestern Pennsylvania had high hopes of becoming a regional hub.
But on Friday, President Joe Biden awarded a $1 billion grant to West Virginia. What does this mean for our region? KDKA-TV lead investigator Andy Sheehan spoke to some disappointed leaders on Friday.
For the better part of two years, the Pittsburgh region has been lobbying the Biden administration to become a so-called hydrogen hub, developing the clean fuel of the future and creating a new economy.
"It'd be creating jobs," hydrogen analyst Bridget van Dorsten said. "It would be creating new infrastructure. It would be creating a new economy. And frankly, it would be creating a new economy in the direction the world is heading, which is towards low carbon centers."
But the Biden administration passed over the Southwestern Pennsylvania application, awarding close to $1 billion in funding to a West Virginia-led coalition, which will claim the lion's share of the 18,000 construction jobs and 3,000 permanent jobs it's expected to generate.
"I'm extremely disappointed," said Darrin Kelly, president of the Allegheny-Fayette Labor Council. "We believe our application was the best, and we stand by it. It's a combination of labor, business, government."
Kelly of the Allegheny-Fayette Central Labor Council, which represents 100,000 regional workers, couldn't hide that disappointment. But Kelly said he was already in negotiations the West Virginia group for a greater inclusion in the development of the hub, its pipelines and processing centers.
"This application thinks the same way we do," Kelly said. "We have to do some negotiations, but I'm very, very happy of the direction we are going."
The West Virginia coalition also includes two local natural gas companies, EQT and CNX. It will use shale gas fracked in this region for the development of so-called blue hydrogen as opposed to green hydrogen developed from renewable sources like wind and solar.
"It will benefit workers far and wide in terms of construction workers, construction trade union workers, the industry at large and those who rely on the industry," said David Callahan of the Marcellus Shale Coalition.
Labor leaders say all is not lost and Southwestern Pennsylvania will still play a vital role in the development of this new energy source.
The Allegheny Conference on Community Development released a statement, saying:
"The Allegheny Conference expresses its disappoint that the Decarbonization Network of Appalachia's (DNA) proposal led by Team Pennsylvania was not selected – as we had hoped – for a hydrogen hub. Nonetheless, we appreciate the consideration given to this application by the U.S. Department of Energy. And we congratulate the leaders of the Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub (ARCH2) – including Pittsburgh region-based EQT and CNX – on their project being selected.
"In the Pittsburgh region, we support an "all-of-the-above resources" approach to energy transition, and hydrogen is one of six key levers that must be pulled for successful transition. The others include:
- Developing low-carbon energy and grid improvements
- Deploying carbon capture and storage
- Electrifying transportation
- Preventing methane emissions
- Increasing building efficiency and electrification
"Hydrogen is important to advancing decarbonization and can help to accelerate investment and inclusive growth. Considering our significant industrial base, the region can be a proving ground for hydrogen's potential with hard-to-abate industries. As the ARCH2 project moves forward and when details become public, we will work tirelessly with partners from labor and industry to create opportunities for southwestern Pennsylvania including job creation and other benefits to our economy. The region stands ready to bring its energy and innovation expertise to bear. We will also support the policies and regulations that will aid the safe, equitable and expedient deployment of decarbonization solutions."