“We applaud the Hochul Administration for their steadfast support of clean, renewable offshore wind power. These awards for the Sunrise Wind and Empire Wind 1 projects demonstrate the state’s commitment to offshore wind and diversify its energy portfolio, representing a significant step forward to building a sustainable energy future for generations to come. By investing in and advancing offshore wind development, New York is paving the way for other states and regions to follow suit, enabling a nationwide shift toward a low-carbon future that will create jobs, revitalize ports, and enhance grid reliability.”

WASHINGTON, D.C., February 26, 2024 — As the comments period comes to a close on the U.S. Treasury Department’s proposed guidance on clean energy investment and production tax credits for green hydrogen projects, a new study conducted by global energy and natural resources research and consulting firm Wood Mackenzie and commissioned by the American Clean Power Association (ACP) shows the Administration’s guidelines requiring hourly matching starting in 2028 will limit the ability of the green hydrogen industry to get off the ground.

Green hydrogen, produced using renewable electricity, is critical to decarbonizing the U.S. economy. The Department of Energy estimates low-carbon hydrogen can eliminate 10 percent of economy-wide emissions by 2050. While Treasury’s 45V tax credits are intended to catalyze the still-nascent low-carbon hydrogen industry in the U.S., the new study released today finds the Administration’s proposed guidelines will stifle green hydrogen deployment by making it too expensive.

Wood Mackenzie’s analysis finds that ACP’s proposal, issued in June 2023, leads to significantly more green hydrogen deployment by 2032 and puts the industry closer to the pathway required to achieve a net-zero emissions economy. Wood Mackenzie also concluded that the annual matching regime for first movers in ACP’s proposal would not lead to additional emissions. In fact, the Treasury proposal is expected to result in higher hydrogen emissions impacts due to the greater adoption of blue hydrogen that results from the lack of green hydrogen deployment.

Even under ACP’s proposed rules, the report stresses that more support is needed to achieve net-zero emissions economy-wide, or low-carbon hydrogen production targets such as those envisioned in DOE’s National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap. The fledgling sector faces challenging market conditions.

“Green hydrogen is an important part of the U.S. decarbonization journey, but electrolyzer technology needs time to scale. Regardless of what time-matching guidelines are imposed, the market conditions for green hydrogen are challenging. It’s clear from our analysis that hydrogen will require support well into the 2030s, and that a more stringent temporal matching regime will result in reduced green hydrogen deployment,” said Wood Mackenzie’s Head of Global Hydrogen Consulting Melany Vargas.

“Getting this guidance right will determine whether a U.S. green hydrogen industry moves forward in the next decade. Green hydrogen is essential to addressing the climate crisis without harming American manufacturing. This study demonstrates that the current Treasury proposal will not achieve the economic or environmental goals articulated by Congress or the Administration,” said ACP CEO Jason Grumet. “If Treasury takes a close look at this data and the numerous analyses from companies hoping to invest billions of dollars in green hydrogen facilities, we believe they will make the changes necessary to get this industry off the ground.”

Wood Mackenzie’s study can be found here: https://cleanpower.org/resources/45v-implications-on-green-hydrogen-industry

“This is a milestone for Empire Wind and domestic offshore wind as a whole. When it reaches construction, this project will, over two phases, create thousands of family-sustaining jobs and revitalize the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal. This will be a great development for the New York regional economy and we look forward to the success of this project. We will continue to work closely with the Administration toward a secure, clean energy future.”

“Designating commercially suitable, environmentally sound areas of the Pacific Ocean for offshore wind energy moves the region one step closer to a clean energy future. We applaud BOEM for listening carefully to Oregonians while ensuring that Oregon offshore wind can be responsibly developed.” 

“Recognizing the urgent need to cut carbon emissions, the State of Oregon has set an ambitious goal to bring three gigawatts of offshore wind power online by 2030, enough energy to power over two million homes. Today’s designation begins the process to meet that goal. It also advances the opportunity for greater reliability and price stability for the people of Oregon. This is a crucial next step in creating a floating offshore wind power industry on the West Coast. 

“We look forward to BOEM’s next step of scheduling a lease sale.”

“Wind energy and eagle conservation have proven to be compatible. The bald eagle population is booming, and the golden eagle population has remained stable alongside a significant expansion of wind energy deployment. The wind industry is looking to reduce the remaining limited impacts even further, and we are hopeful the FWS final rule will expand the availability of permits so that eagle populations can experience increased conservation benefits from the deployment of wind energy, including those related to a reduction in greenhouse gases and other air pollution.”  

_{Sources: Millsap et al. 2022. “Golden Eagles in the Western United States.” Ecological Applications 32( 3): e2544. https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.2544;
Eagle Data:  U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 2020. Final Report: Bald Eagle Population Size: 2020 Update. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Division of Migratory Bird Management, Washington, D.C. U.S.A.;
Wind Data: ACP Clean Power IQ facility database: https://cleanpower.org/cleanpower-iq/;
U.S. Department of Energy 2022 Wind Technologies Market Report: https://emp.lbl.gov/sites/default/files/2022_land_based_wind_market_report_data.xlsm}

 Mirroring the depth and breadth of the clean energy industry, ACP’s new Board includes executives from a diverse range of wind, utility-scale solar, energy storage and transmission companies, in addition to leading manufacturers, financial institutions, utilities, construction firms, and developers.  

“The strength of ACP’s Board stems from combining a diversity of business interests with a shared commitment to a clean and secure future,” said ACP CEO Jason Grumet. “Clean energy is coming off a strong 2023, but we have much more work to do. The ACP Board embraces the urgency of the clean energy transition and will deploy its collective power at every level of government to get the job done.”   

The new Board and Officers were approved at ACP’s February 5 Board meeting and will serve a one-year term. They include: 

• Chair: Susan D. Nickey, Executive Vice President and Chief Client Officer, HASI  
• Chair-Elect: Laura Beane, President, Vestas North America  
• Treasurer: Brian Van Abel, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Xcel Energy  
• Secretary: David Hardy, Group EVP and CEO Americas, Ørsted

“I am honored to continue to serve as ACP Board Chair and partner with Jason at such a pivotal time for the clean energy industry,” said Susan Nickey, ACP Board Chair and Chief Client Officer at HASI. “The potential of clean energy is immense, and together with the Board, I am eager to build on our momentum and advance our priorities and this industry.” 

The ACP Board also elected a new Executive Committee. In addition to the Officers, executives from the following clean energy-focused companies will comprise its membership:  

• AES Clean Energy: Kleber Costa, Chief Commercial Officer   
• Avangrid Renewables: Puneet Verma, Vice President, Federal Government Affairs   
• BHE Renewables: Alicia R. Knapp, President and CEO   
• Clearway Energy Group: Craig Cornelius, President and CEO   
• Dominion Energy: Mark Mitchell, SVP of Project Construction   
• EDF Renewables North America: Tristan Grimbert, President and Chief Executive Officer   
• Form Energy: Mateo Jaramillo, CEO and Co-Founder   
• GE Vernova: Stephen Swift, Chief Commercial Officer – Onshore Wind   
• Intersect Power: Sheldon Kimber, CEO, Founder   
• ITC Holdings Corp.: Krista Tanner, Senior Vice President and Chief Business Office  
• Leeward Renewable Energy, LLC: Jason Allen, Chief Executive Officer  
• NextEra Energy Resources, LLC: Rebecca Kujawa, President & Chief Executive Officer  
• Pattern Energy Group Services, LP: Hunter Armistead, Chief Executive Officer   
• Southern Power: John L. Pemberton, Senior Vice President, Chief Compliance Officer & General Counsel  

The 2024 American Clean Power Association Board of Directors also includes:   

• Amazon Web Services: Abhishek Sharma, Senior Principal Amazon; Director, Amazon Energy  
• American Electric Power: Greg Hall, Executive Vice President & Chief Commercial Officer  
• Apex Clean Energy Inc.: Ken Young, President and Chief Executive Officer  
• Array Technologies: Kevin Hostetler, Chief Executive Officer  
• Blattner Energy: Jason Widman, Senior Vice President, General Manager – Wind  
• bp: Mary Streett, Senior Vice President, Americas, Communications and External Affairs  
• Cypress Creek Renewables LLC: Sarah Slusser, CEO  
• EDP Renewables North America LLC: Sandhya Ganapathy, CEO  
• ENGIE North America: David Carroll, Chief Renewables Officer  
• Eolian: Stephanie Smith, COO  
• Equinor: Molly Morris, President, Renewables Americas  
• First Solar: Mark Widmar, Chief Executive Officer  
• Fluence: John Zahurancik, President, Americas  
• Grid United: Alistair Vickers, Chief Operating Officer  
• Invenergy: Jim Murphy, President & Corporate Business Leader  
• JPMorgan: Rubaio Song, Head of JPMorgan Tax Equity  
• Marathon Capital, LLC: Ted Brandt, Chief Executive Officer  
• MasTec Inc.: Jose Mas, CEO  
• Mortenson: Mark Donahue, Senior Vice President  
• Nextracker: Dan Shugar, Founder and CEO  
• Pine Gate Renewables: Ben Catt, CEO  
• RWE Clean Energy: Andrew Flanagan, CEO 
• Shell Energy: Amanda Dasch, Vice President Offshore Power Americas  
• TPI Composites, Inc.: Bill Siwek, President and CEO  
• WECS Renewables: Theresa Eaton, CEO, Chair & Owner 

“This approval is yet another milestone toward America’s energy security and clean energy future. As the largest planned offshore wind project in the nation, the CVOW project will power approximately 660,000 homes with renewable energy while unleashing increased economic growth and jobs in the Mid-Atlantic region and shipbuilding in the Midwest and Gulf Coast.

“This project demonstrates what offshore wind development can deliver onshore by attracting new investments in communities, building domestic supply chains, and revitalizing domestic ports. Additionally, CVOW will enhance the resilience and reliability of Virginia’s electric grid, ensuring a more secure and stable energy supply for residents and businesses while also improving local air quality.”

“Governor Murphy’s leadership is positioning New Jersey as a significant hub for offshore wind development. Today is a key step towards achieving the state’s goal of a 100 percent clean energy economy by 2035. Offshore wind will bring huge economic benefits to the state and region, creating jobs and new investment opportunities for manufacturing companies and suppliers to support the necessary infrastructure needed for this new and growing industry. It is also a significant commitment to developing the New Jersey Wind Port which will generate up to $500 million in new economic activity annually for the Garden State.  We look forward to working with New Jersey on these important procurements, as well as the previously awarded projects currently under development.”

Editor’s note:  

• Attentive Energy Two is a joint venture between TotalEnergies and Corio Generation. 

• Leading Light Wind is a partnership between lead developer Invenergy and co-developer energyRe.

The energy storage industry is growing at an exponential rate, with seven times more utility-scale energy storage capacity today than at the end of 2020. Currently, the U.S. energy storage industry supports over 60,000 jobs in technology innovation, advanced manufacturing, engineering, and construction. Over the next decade, energy storage capacity will add tens of thousands of megawatts to America’s electric grid. 

“The clean energy transition cannot succeed without extraordinary growth in energy storage. American energy must be clean, affordable, reliable, and secure. Energy storage is essential to achieving each of these national imperatives,” said Jason Grumet, ACP CEO. “ACP’s membership is on the cutting edge of the energy storage revolution. ACP RECHARGE will serve as the ultimate destination to share ideas, display technological advances and participate in dynamic forums that address the challenges we face ahead.” 

The conference is taking place alongside the Formula E racing event in Portland —which will feature the exciting single-seater motorsport championship league for electric cars. Registration for ACP RECHARGE will give attendees a chance to access tickets for the race taking place on June 29.  

“The energy transition is happening faster than expected and recent extreme weather events have inspired a renewed focus on grid reliability and resiliency. No technology resource is more poised than energy storage to meet today’s reliability needs and deliver on state clean energy goals,” said Mateo Jaramillo, CEO of Form Energy. “We look forward to ACP RECHARGE and the timely opportunity to explore diverse emerging technologies, the policy frameworks that can unleash the many benefits of energy storage, and the strength and capabilities of our dynamic industry.”  

“Events like ACP RECHARGE Summit are an exciting step for the energy storage industry,” said John Zahurancik, President of Fluence. “The industry is growing at lightning speed. That speed means forums like this are critical in elevating safety, expanding the supply chain and supporting reliable power systems all over the world.” 

“As the energy storage industry continues its impressive growth, the inaugural ACP RECHARGE is the place to be for the latest on financing, technology, and markets,” said Jacquie DeRosa, VP of Energy Storage for Ameresco. “I’m excited to see our energy storage leaders in Portland to celebrate successes, exchange insights and drive the next phase of storage advancements. Together, we’re shaping a sustainable energy future.”  

Register today at https://cleanpower.org/energy-storage-conference/.