Some Pittsburgh elected officials caution against 'blue hydrogen' hub pitch

Leaders from around the world are in Pittsburgh for the Global Clean Energy Action Forum, and hydrogen figures to be a key topic of discussion.

While the gas is quickly gaining cache as the future of American energy, there are disagreements about what Pittsburgh’s role should be concerning hydrogen.

And a group of Pittsburgh-area elected officials and environmentalists met Wednesday at Flagstaff Hill in Oakland to try to sway Pittsburgh’s hydrogen future towards an alliance with renewable energy, and away from one with natural gas.

Gov. Tom Wolf, Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, and the Allegheny Conference on Community Development have already pitched the region as a hub for blue hydrogen — hydrogen made from natural gas. Thanks to the $1.2 trillion infrastructure law passed last year, there is $8 billion dedicated for at least four hydrogen hubs, and local leaders hope the Pittsburgh region will be selected by the White House.

Pittsburgh City Councilwoman Erika Strassburger, D-Shadyside, is pleased that clean energy leaders are visiting Pittsburgh, but cautioned against the region going all in on natural gas, blue hydrogen, and carbon capture technology. She said blue hydrogen is “untested and unscalable.”

“I am grateful for the opportunity to remind everyone that there are other, true clean energy sources out there,” said Strassburger.

She said the region might be better off pitching itself as a hub for green hydrogen — hydrogen produced with renewable energy sources like wind and solar. She said that Carnegie Mellon University is already working on green hydrogen technology.

Joanne Kilgour, director of environmental think tank Ohio River Valley Institute, said the region shouldn’t align its energy future with natural gas, which has gone through a boom and bust cycle since proliferating more than 10 years ago.

She said embracing blue hydrogen over green hydrogen could mean the region misses its climate change goals. While natural gas emits less carbon dioxide compared to coal, production of the gas emits large amounts of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas.

“We hope that the Clean Energy Ministerial will instead focus on proposals that invest in true clean energy strategies like renewables - which are proven, cheap, safe, and clean,” said Kilgour.

County Councilwoman Michelle Naccarati-Chapkis said there is strong support for rejecting the promise of natural gas, citing the council’s successful vote to ban new fracking leases in county-owned parks, and the hundreds of people that came out to support that effort.

In this region, the people have been clear: we want a clean energy future to power our homes and our work,” said Naccarati-Chapkis.

The Global Clean Energy Action Forum runs through Friday at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Downtown Pittsburgh.