Fill 'er Up... with Hydrogen? Washington Utility Eager to Branch into H2 Fuel Production

April 12, 2019

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by Tom Banse (KLCC) An electric utility in north central Washington wants to branch out into hydrogen fuel production. It would be the first of a group of power companies in the Pacific Northwest to use their dams to make "renewable hydrogen."

The Douglas County Public Utility District operates Wells Dam on the Columbia River north of Wenatchee, Washington. The dam generates a lot of surplus electricity, especially during spring runoff. Quite a few years ago, utility managers hit on the idea of using surplus electricity to split water molecules to make hydrogen. Douglas PUD general manager Gary Ivory said the needed equipment, called an electrolyzer, has dramatically fallen in price lately.

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Ivory said hydrogen can be used as a vehicle fuel, to augment natural gas and in industrial processes such as oil refining, fertilizer production and electronics manufacturing. One problem is that right now there are no commercial hydrogen fueling stations to sell to in Washington or Oregon.

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Douglas PUD just won unanimous support from the Washington Legislature to broaden the authority of public utility districts statewide to include hydrogen production and wholesaling.

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A hydrogen fuel cell doesn't burn anything. It uses a chemical reaction between the hydrogen and oxygen from the air to produce electricity. Hydrogen fuel cell cars are quiet, like battery electric ones, and they emit only water out the exhaust.

Honda, Hyundai, Mercedes and Toyota make hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles in very limited numbers. READ MORE includes AUDIO

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