Kotzebue Clean Energy Coalition Volume 25
Kotzebue Clean Energy Coalition Newsletter
The latest from just above the Arctic Circle.
What's Up in Kotzebue
Kotzebue Electric Association was featured in an article titled, "Thinking Big: How an Alaska Co-op Is ‘Keeping Rates Stable’" in Rural Electric Magazine. Great job Matt and Tom and everyone else at KEA who have been leading the way in renewable energy for over two decades. It is great to see KEA's efforts continue to be recognized even as they continue to grow and improve.
What's Up in the World
Hydrogen: Is the hype real this time?
Hydrogen has come up in conversations recently. I listen when smart people speak, and what I have heard recently is that in "certain situations" hydrogen vehicles makes more sense than electric vehicles. If fuel prices are extremally high, shipping in and sending batteries out to be recycled is cost prohibitive, and you can produce copious amounts of renewable energy relatively cheaply hydrogen vehicles, large and small could make a lot of sense.
So I looked into what is happening in the world of hydrogen, and there is a lot...but this article sums up the state of electrolyzers and the cost of green hydrogen "Electrolyzers: The tools to turn hydrogen green". If hydrogen is adopted on a larger scale, market forces will bring the cost down. If electrolyzer technology improves it could become downright affordable.
If you don't make it to the end of the article it states "Today, according to the recently released U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap, green hydrogen costs between $5.00 and $7.00 per kilogram, whereas blue hydrogen costs $1.25–$2.10." One kg of hydrogen is equivalent to one gallon of gasoline. So green hydrogen is already more affordable than what we pay for fuel in Kotzebue ($7.59/gal). Interesting.
The trick will be to produce the energy to make they hydrogen with renewable energy. In Kotzebue that most likely means capturing more wind. Then building out a hydrogen infrastructure which could include the shipping fleet and vehicles large and small. What about hydrogen jets?
Maybe it's just a fever dream, but it is interesting to consider what a hydrogen future could look like.
Quote
"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams."
― Eleanor Roosevelt
email: chad.nordlum@qira.org
Have a wonderful weekend.
Chad
P.S. Sign up by clicking the link below to get this newsletter every week.
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