The California Energy Commission (CEC) has funded the continued operation and maintenance of 16 hydrogen refueling stations located strategically throughout California.
At a recent business meeting, the CEC approved more than $2 million for operating and maintaining 16 publicly accessible, existing hydrogen refueling stations statewide – from San Diego to Truckee.
The funds come from the commission’s Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program, which invests in advanced alternative and renewable fuels and vehicle technologies. According to the CEC, hydrogen stations are key to achieving California Gov. Jerry Brown’s target to place five million zero-emission vehicles on California roads by 2030. The governor’s executive order also calls for 250,000 electric vehicle charging stations and 200 hydrogen fueling stations by 2025.
At the meeting, the CEC also approved two reports that track the state’s path to a clean energy future. The commission adopted the Integrated Energy Policy Report (IEPR), which assesses and updates major energy trends and issues facing the state’s electricity, natural gas and transportation fuel sectors. The report provides policy recommendations to conserve resources and protect the environment while maintaining energy reliability, according to the commission.
The report suggests that a downward trend in greenhouse-gas emissions must be initiated in the next three years to avoid extreme climate change impacts. It also suggests that the state’s electric grid must evolve to support a low-carbon future that integrates solar and wind energy.
The commission also approved the California Energy Demand Forecast for 2018-2030. The report presents baseline forecasts of natural gas and electricity consumption and of peak demand for California and utility planning areas. The report includes estimates of additional achievable energy efficiency savings and photovoltaic adoption and provides options for managed electricity forecasts for resource planning.
The forecasts are used in a number of ways, including in planning proceedings for the California Independent System Operator’s transmission plans and the California Public Utilities Commission for integrated resource and distributed resource planning.
There is a mature start-up highly competitive hydrogen production company called Joi Scientific located at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center at the SLSL facility. The recent news on January 8, 2018 is about: “Turning Seawater into Electricity” by CBC News-Brunswick-Canada about Joi Scientific signing a $7 million agreement with New Brunswick Power Electric Utility.