Washington’s laws identify two categories of clean or green hydrogen based on how the hydrogen is produced:
- “Renewable hydrogen” is hydrogen produced using renewable resources both as the source for hydrogen and the source for the energy input into the production process. This definition was first enacted in 2019 in providing authority to public utility districts to produce and distribute hydrogen (SB 5588, 2019) and to provide a sales tax exemption on equipment used to produce hydrogen (HB 2042, 2019).
- “Green electrolytic hydrogen” is hydrogen produced through electrolysis. It does not include hydrogen manufactured using steam reforming or any other conversion technology that produces hydrogen from a fossil fuel feedstock. In this definition water is the feedstock for the hydrogen, while the electricity is not a feedstock but is the input energy or process energy used in electrolysis of the water.
Washington added “green electrolytic hydrogen” in 2022 to authorize and encourage hydrogen production facilities even if they will not rely exclusively on renewable electricity sources in the near term. Under this definition, water is the feedstock for the hydrogen, while the electricity is not a feedstock but the process energy used in electrolysis. Hydrogen produced through electrolysis will meet this definition regardless of whether the electricity is produced from onsite renewable sources, from fossil-fired generation, from unspecified grid sources, or any combination of these resources. The Clean Energy Transformation Act (Chapter 19.405 RCW) is Washington’s clean electricity law, which requires all electricity used in Washington to be greenhouse gas neutral by 2030 and 100% clean by 2045. Under the 2030 GHG-neutral standard, a utility may use fossil-fired electricity for up to 20% of its supply under an alternative compliance mechanism.
The actual carbon intensity (CI) for green electrolytic hydrogen and other low-or zero carbon hydrogen depends on the sources of electricity used by each production facility. The Greenhouse Gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy Use in Transportation (GREET) model, developed by Argonne National Lab, is used by the US Treasury Department to determine carbon intensity of hydrogen in order to assign 45V Production Tax Credit. DOE materials regarding the GREET model show an aligned interpretation where the “feedstock” is assessed separately from “process inputs” which includes electricity. This is aligned also with the Washington Clean Fuel Program rules that show that clean fuels CI calculations will assess “feedstock” and “process energy” (see WAC 173-424-900, Table 8 Washington Temporary Fuel Pathway Codes).
This legislation is part of a broader policy landscape that makes Washington a compelling place to produce and use green electrolytic and renewable hydrogen and other renewable fuels. Earlier legislation that paved the way includes the Clean Energy Transformation Act (CETA), net-zero GHG emission limits by 2050, and the Climate Commitment Act. Complementary policies include the Healthy Environment for All (HEAL) Act to ensure environmental justice is advanced in state environmental policies and programs.
