Letter to the editor: Community input needed on hydrogen hubs

I recently attended the first of seven “listening sessions” on hydrogen hubs hosted by the Department of Energy (DOE) to hear how residents in other parts of the country felt about these projects. I did not find out. Only three people registered to speak — all members of the building trades. The meeting ended after 25 minutes. One is left to wonder how — and to whom — the department spread the word regarding this long- awaited listening session.

The session for the Heartland Hydrogen Hub was scheduled only a week in advance. Even though I attended the “community briefings” last fall, signed up for updates and corresponded directly with department officials, I received no notice of the sessions from the DOE.

Speaking slots are limited for those who do hear about the sessions, allowing for as few as 12 speakers. Registrants are asked to identify themselves as residents of to-date-undisclosed “host communities,” a seemingly intentional slight against a public deemed undeserving of even the barest details about projects that will bring untold impacts to their communities.

Overall, these hydrogen hubs have undertaken almost no community engagement and have chosen to hide behind “the cloak of competition,” as one representative put it, despite the fact that we are now five months past the announcement of the seven winning hubs.

Whether by contempt or incompetence, the department sent an email the next day flaunting its own failures: “Thank you for attending DOE OCED Heartland H2Hub Listening Session. We hope you enjoyed our event.”

Karen Feridun

Kutztown

The writer is co-founder of the Better Path Coalition.