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President Biden has pledged $7 billion in support for clean-energy projects all over the country, including projects in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Illinois, Minnesota, Texas, Washington, and California. The program would jumpstart the development and eventual production of hydrogen fuel, which is a crucial component to Biden’s climate change agenda. Clean hydrogen fuel would help Biden achieve his vision of reaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. by 2050. He also hopes that the projects would help created “‘a stronger, energy-secure economy’ and combat ‘the existential threat of climate change’”.

The goal of the program would be to establish 7 regional clean-energy hubs to replace fossil fuels - including coal and oil - with cleaner sources of energy for manufacturing, generating electricity, and for vehicles. These hubs are comprised of projects that span more than 16 states, and according to Biden, “will create tens of thousands of good-paying jobs”. 

Not only will these hubs create jobs, but their locations were strategically selected in order to replace areas that are heavily dominated by non-renewable energy sources. Each hub will focus on either producing clean hydrogen or using hydrogen in ways that will reduce the United States’ carbon footprint. For example, decarbonizing public transportation and fertilizer that’s used in agriculture, generating power and electricity, producing steel and glass, and creating sustainable fuel.

However, some environmentalists are not enthused by this news. Critics of hydrogen fuel claim that it is not in fact a greener alternative because it often uses non-renewable resources in its production. In addition, hydrogen takes an immense amount of energy to produce, which could be counterproductive to the goal of reducing energy usage. Erik Kamrath, an advocate at an environmental group called the Natural Resources Defense Council, expressed his concerns that “U.S. hydrogen does not create an emissions mess, and that we are not subsidizing hydrogen that is clean in name only”.

On the other hand, Anna Menke from a different environmental organization called the Clean Air Task Force had a much more hopeful outlook. She claimed the announcement of these hydrogen hubs were “a critical first step” in reducing emissions and could be a gamechanger.

Source: https://www.usnews.com/news/business/articles/2023-10-13/biden-awards-7-billion-for-clean-hydrogen-hubs-across-the-country-to-help-replace-fossil-fuels.