As a proud energy state, it’s exciting to see West Virginia continue to be a leader in that field, both in terms of the state’s longstanding supply of coal and natural gas to power the nation to this point and in terms of the state’s efforts to diversity to an “all-of-the-above” energy policy. West Virginia’s latest effort is the Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub.
The hub set up its base of operations Wednesday in the West Virginia University Innovation Center, which is the former Mylan Pharmaceutical facility in Morgantown.
Backed by about $925 million in federal funds, the hub hopes to be at the center of hydrogen energy development not just in West Virginia, but also in neighboring Ohio and Pennsylvania.
ARCH2 is among seven regional hydrogen hub projects announced last October. It will be made up of hydrogen pipelines, multiple hydrogen fueling stations and permanent CO2 storage infrastructure in West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania, Senior Writer Charles Young reported Wednesday.
The ARCH2 project will bring together federal, state and local governments, private industry and others to “build a safe and sustainable clean hydrogen ecosystem in Appalachia,” according to information from the ARCH2 website.
“Hydrogen, the fuel of the future, is in abundance here in this state,” WVU President Dr. E. Gordon Gee said. “So much of what we have is in abundance — coal, oil and gas, hydrogen, wind, solar and almost anything you can imagine. Now we have an opportunity to capitalize on that and make sure our future is a West Virginia future.”
U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, I-W.Va., has been instrumental in bringing ARCH2 partners together and ensuring the project would be part of the hydrogen effort. He believes it fits into West Virginia’s long-standing role as one of the nation’s leading energy producers.
“West Virginia has been a leading driver of energy since our conception, since we became a state, and, right now, we’re still a leading driver,” he said. “We are in a tremendous location right now — all the investments that’ve been made for the state of West Virginia to take advantage of and be able to offer jobs and, really, careers.”
U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, former Rep. David McKinley and Gov. Jim Justice also are part of the coalition that helped bring the project to the funding table.
The first $30 million toward the ARCH2 project, which was recently issued by the U.S. Department of Energy, will go toward “design and planning,” according to Capito.
“It will be further solidifying the partnerships and actually getting more specific,” Capito said. “In the initial phase, it was where we were going to be doing production and who was going to be using the product and how we’re going to build pipelines. This will be more granular and much more in the design phase.”
Justice said the hydrogen hub project is just another example of West Virginia’s energy transformation.
“West Virginia is an ‘all of the above’ energy state, and harnessing the power of hydrogen allows us to create new economic opportunities and high-quality jobs for our communities,” he said. “I’m proud that West Virginia will continue its tradition as an innovative, energy-producing state.”
We applaud those who have worked to make West Virginia a leader in hydrogen development while still supporting the state’s other energy sources.
As we’ve noted before, West Virginia is a great example of what we believe U.S. energy policy should be: Support and depend of reliable fuels like coal, oil and natural gas while investing in the development of new — and often cleaner — energy sources like solar, wind, nuclear and hydrogen.
Now let’s hope we see that policy become more of the national approach as we look to move the United States forward in the most efficient and cost-effective manner.