Congress eyes $235B in clean energy subsidies. Here they areWhat’s old is new: Nuclear and hydrogen
One of the most notable things about the reconciliation package is how it would expand subsidies that were once available only to wind and solar to other zero-emitting technologies. That includes nuclear facilities.
Nuclear generated almost a fifth of America’s electricity last year. But persistently low natural gas prices and renewables have eroded the economic competitiveness of nuclear facilities and prompted a series of plant closures. The reconciliation package aims to head off more closures with a nuclear production tax credit worth 3 cents per kWh through 2026. The credit is expected to cost $15 billion.
If the nuclear production credit aims to keep existing facilities open, a hydrogen credit aims to change how industrial facilities operate. Today, most of the hydrogen used in industrial facilities like chemical plants is produced by combining natural gas with steam.
But electricity can also be used to split a water molecule into hydrogen. When the process uses renewable energy, it produces so-called green hydrogen. But it tends to be expensive.
The reconciliation bill would provide a $3-per-kilogram tax credit for hydrogen production using renewables. A reduced credit would be available to other technologies using natural gas with carbon capture, and nuclear facilities. In total, the clean hydrogen credits are worth $9 billion over a decade.
“It really shows the commitment to decarbonization,” said Dan Klein, an energy modeler at S&P Global Platts. “It goes beyond the lowest-hanging fruit, beyond the power sector and EVs.”
https://www.eenews.net/articles/congress-eyes-235b-in-clean-energy-subsidies-here-they-are/
