U.S. Department of Energy - Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
Office of EERE
Testimony of David K. Garman
Assistant Secretary
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
Department of Energy
on the "Robert S. Walker and George E. Brown, Jr. Hydrogen Future Act of 2001"
July 1, 2001
Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, I am pleased to present the Administration's views on the pending discussion draft of the "Robert S. Walker and George E. Brown, Jr. Hydrogen Future Act of 2001."
The Administration supports the reauthorization of the Hydrogen Future Act. We believe, however, that its authorization levels should comport with the President's funding requests. We are engaged in a strategic review of all Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy programs as recommended by the National Energy Policy report. This review will form the basis of our recommended funding levels in the future. The National Energy Policy report developed by the Vice President's National Energy Policy Development Group specifically highlights hydrogen as an important, next-generation technology, and recommends that R&D efforts be focused on integrating current programs regarding hydrogen, fuel cells, and distributed energy.
Hydrogen represents a potential long-term alternative to the existing energy system. Hydrogen is capable of serving as a "universal" energy carrier that can satisfy every conceivable need for electric, mechanical, and thermal energy. Hydrogen can be derived from plentiful domestic resources -- even water. It is clean and compatible with existing energy conversion technologies such as fuel cells, engines, and combustion turbines.
Given our dependence on oil imports, our aging electricity and natural gas infrastructure, and volatile energy prices, we have an important opportunity to explore alternative energy systems that will promote economic prosperity and a healthier environment. Investing in viable, economic energy alternatives provides a hedge against an uncertain energy future. Hydrogen could be such an alternative energy system.
As I see it, the primary advantages of hydrogen use are:
Hydrogen may enable much greater use of distributed energy systems, the small-scale, modular energy devices that can be located onsite or near the point of use. Currently, these systems include technologies such as fuel cells, microturbines, Stirling engines, photovoltaics, and energy storage devices such as batteries and flywheels.
Distributed energy systems are being implemented across America in commercial development enterprises such as power parks and mini-grids. These are examples of multi-use facilities that use onsite power generation systems for meeting the total energy needs of local energy users including offices, factories, and residential communities for power, heating, cooling, and humidity control. In these and other applications, distributed energy systems provide users with onsite access, pinpoint control, and the opportunity to have power available every minute of every day. This level of reliability is in demand from the high tech sector and other energy users. Reducing the barriers to distributed energy systems can help lay the foundation for hydrogen in the future.
Let me expand on one example of a hydrogen fuel technology, fuel cells -- one of the more promising distributed energy devices, for both stationary and mobile applications. Fuel cells run exclusively on hydrogen. Reformers are used today to extract the hydrogen from fossil fuels such as natural gas and coal. In the future, sources for hydrogen will include renewable biomass, and water. The electricity needed to electrolyze water can come from renewable sources such as wind and photovoltaics. The ongoing development of the infrastructure to support distributed energy systems in the economy today, in which the U.S. Department of Energy is already playing a key role, is a critical step in the process of building a strong hydrogen future.
An appropriate, strategic approach is to use public-private partnerships to:
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support the elements of hydrogen that exist and are economical today;
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test the various elements of the future system that will eventually be needed; and to
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nurture promising energy pathways in preparation for an eventual transition to a new and improved energy infrastructure.
The current discussion draft of the Hydrogen Future Act provides a strong framework for public-private partnering to improve our ability to cost-effectively produce, store and transport hydrogen. This Administration intends to provide the necessary leadership. The discussion draft of the Act also promotes looking at hydrogen energy from a systems perspective to ensure that technical, economic, environmental, safety and infrastructure aspects are fully considered. The Administration strongly supports such a systems approach.
The Act provides a framework for continued coordination of efforts within DOE as well as other Federal, State and local government agencies. The Administration believes a coordinated interagency effort will strengthen our ability to move toward commercial use of hydrogen and the Department of Energy will work to make it happen. The statute has been helpful in achieving our progress to date and, therefore, the Administration recommends its reauthorization.
The Department also plans to continue a strong core research and development element designed to provide the enabling technologies needed for hydrogen energy systems. The core program is balanced between nearer-term development efforts and longer-term research efforts. The longer-term projects are focused on the use of renewable energy sources to produce hydrogen, principally from water, while the nearer-term projects, supported by significant industry cost-share, are focused on efficient and cost-effective processes that will produce, store, and deliver hydrogen for use in the transportation and power sector. In the nearer term, the hydrogen needed to begin establishing an infrastructure will come mainly from fossil fuel sources.
A critical aspect of DOE's Hydrogen program is the Department's ability to introduce integrated hydrogen energy systems in order to validate their cost and performance. These technology validation projects are undertaken in partnership with private interests and regional governments. These validation projects are vital to reducing the technical risk, establishing customer and investor confidence, and meeting regional energy needs.
Collaborations with key states and industrial partners have greatly strengthened our program. For example, the State of Hawaii has proposed hydrogen infrastructure projects that include hydrogen production, storage, distribution and linkage to fuel cell generation. We are also working with Sunline Transit Authority in California to test a fleet of hydrogen buses. Further, Las Vegas has started a collaborative program to demonstrate hydrogen refueling for fuel cell powered vehicles.
The next decade presents a window of opportunity for positively affecting the pace of the transition to a hydrogen energy future. The aging electricity infrastructure, for example, are already responsible for power supply constraints and natural gas price spikes. These infrastructures will require a large infusion of capital if the lights are to be kept on, factories working, and the Internet available. These investments could be targeted toward distributed energy solutions, which have the dual advantage of addressing today's problems while laying the groundwork for the infrastructure of a hydrogen future. Our preferred pathway involves a coordinated technology development and implementation effort to support the small but growing distributed energy enterprise, and invest in advanced hydrogen production and storage concepts. The end result will be new energy resources for America today, as we build a bridge to our energy future.
Thank you for providing me with the opportunity to testify before the Committee. I would be happy to respond to any questions the Committee may have.
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