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Assertion: If green hydrogen projects are allowed to use existing grid power it would lead to an increase in total emissions

Allowing green hydrogen producers to use existing grid power would place a severe burden on the power grid and delay the decarbonization of other sectors. Green hydrogen production is energy-intensive and requires significant amounts of clean energy. If producers connect to existing clean energy sources, other consumers, such as utilities and electric vehicle owners, would have to rely more on fossil fuels.1 A December 2022 study by Princeton researchers found that connecting electrolyzers to the existing power grid could result in nearly twice the emissions of producing gray hydrogen via steam reformation of methane 2

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Footnotes​

  1. Fakery, R. (2022, December 8). Success of IRA Hydrogen Tax Credit Hinges on IRS and DOE. National Resource Defense Council. https://www.nrdc.org/bio/rachel-fakhry/success-ira-hydrogen-tax-credit-hinges-irs-and-doe ↩

  2. Poore, C. (2022, December 20). Without guidance, Inflation Reduction Act tax credit may do more harm than good. Princeton University. https://acee.princeton.edu/acee-news/without-guidance-ira-tax-credit-may-do-more-harm-than-good/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=andlinger ↩