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Mar 15 - Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News - Kurt Blumenau
The Morning Call, Allentown, Pa.
Coal, natural gas, farm waste and other made-in-Pennsylvania materials could help the state build its own hydrogen production and fueling network, according to a study to be presented this month to state officials. The study, while not a specific construction plan, has clear implications for the Lehigh Valley. As the state's third-most-populous area, the Valley would attract more hydrogen fuel stations than most other regions. Also, one possibility raised by the plan involves construction of a hydrogen plant in the western part of Carbon County, one of five such plants in the state. Hydrogen, tapped by President Bush as America's energy future, can be used to produce pollution-free power for cars, homes, computers and more. California has a Hydrogen Highway network of auto fueling stations under way, but other states have been slower to enter the market. Pennsylvania has only one hydrogen station, on the Penn State campus in State College, while California has 22 and counting. The study -- jointly prepared by research firms in Johnstown, Cambria County, and Vienna, Va. -- is not a firm road map for development. It sets no timelines for station openings, and does not say how much a network would cost, or who would pay for it. And it says nothing about automakers, which would have to supply hydrogen cars here to help build momentum. Instead, the study uses Pennsylvania-specific information, such as the wholesale cost of electricity and gas, to show what a hydrogen network would look like using different variables. "To the extent we could get data exclusive to Pennsylvania, we used that," said Paul LeMar of Resource Dynamics Corp., the Virginia research firm. Concurrent Technologies Corp. of Johnstown hired LeMar's firm to assemble the study, which was paid for by the U.S. Department of Energy. Should the state have one, two or five hydrogen production plants? What raw material should they use? Should the hydrogen be sent to fuel stations by pipeline, or driven in tanker trucks? And how would each result vary if 1 percent, 10 percent or 30 percent of the state's cars and trucks were hydrogen-powered? Under the 1 percent plan, the state would have 88 fueling stations, including 40 in Philadelphia, 14 in Pittsburgh and eight in the Lehigh Valley. The statewide number would rise to 667 stations under the 10 percent scenario, and 2,000 under the 30 percent plan, LeMar said. One production plant in the Dauphin County area might be able to serve the state, but one each in the Philadelphia and Pittsburgh area would do better, the study says. Another possibility calls for five plants -- one each in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Carbon County, Dauphin County and Forest County, in the northwest part of the state. Those sites were chosen based on population and demand patterns, LeMar said. They were also chosen because each one has a different natural resource that might be cost-effective, such as coal in Pittsburgh or anthracite waste dumps in Carbon County. In general, using coal and running the gas through a pipeline proved cheapest for high-volume production. For lower volumes, running natural gas-derived hydrogen through pipes or trucking it in trailers was cheaper, according to the study. The companies have an appointment March 24 with several members of state Environmental Secretary Kathleen McGinty's office, according to Linda Eslin of Concurrent Technologies. The state supports the idea of using different regions' resources to create fuel. Last year, McGinty's office gave $10 million to 17 projects exploring various fuel sources. "We're pretty excited to be able to talk with them," Eslin said. Air Products and Chemicals of Trexlertown, the world's leading supplier of hydrogen, was one of several partners that contributed to research. "They've really been a great sounding board for our work," LeMar said. 610-820-6664 |