Hawaii
Energy Policy Forum > 2001
Articles
Hydrogen on horizon for Hawaii
Ben Dipietro
Pacific Business News
January 26, 2001
"
Honey, don't forget to plug the car into the house. I want
to make sure we have enough electricity for that dinner party
tomorrow."
Comments like that may be routine in the not-too-distant
future, possibly by the end of this decade, when your car
could provide electricity to your home -- and make you money
while it's parked.
Advances in fuel cell technology are speeding
up, bringing Hawaii closer to the reality of a non- or low-polluting
energy
source supporters say will lead to the end of the use of
oil and other polluting fossil fuels. Others say the move
to a hydrogen-based economy will take at least 15 to 20 years,
and that it will be decades before oil becomes obsolete as
an energy source. Homes, businesses and vehicles would operate
on hydrogen-based fuel cell power supplies that produce water
as the only byproduct. That water could be used for drinking,
or to heat or cool buildings, adding even more efficiency. "It
doesn't mean it will happen overnight, but for oil the end
game is near," says Amory Lovins, a co-founder of the
Rocky Mountain Institute in Colorado and a leading developer
and proponent of fuel cell technology. "The writing
is definitely on the wall."
Within 25 years Hawaii could not only be using hydrogen as
its main energy source, but also could be a leading exporter
of hydrogen, says Rep. Hermina Morita, D-East Maui-North
Kauai. The state's plentiful availability of solar, wind,
hydro and geothermal power sources can produce hydrogen with
little or no pollution, Morita says. Presently, the process
of producing hydrogen usually involves burning natural gas
or oil, which causes pollution. As states and companies cope
with the ramifications of the power crisis in California,
Morita says more money and effort will be expended looking
for reliable and cheap sources of clean energy. "If
you had asked me a year ago I would have said the technology
is not ready. But we finally are seeing a real convergence
on the technical side," Morita says. "Things are
moving faster than expected."
Hawaii primed
A study prepared for the state by consulting
firm Sentech, of Bethesda, Md., says Hawaii is in position
to become a
player in the fuel cell transportation market by the end
of this decade. "We believe hydrogen fuel can be cost-effective
in many areas of Hawaii this decade," study author Jonathan
Hurwitch told lawmakers last week. "A hydrogen transportation
fuel cell option looks worthy within the state."
The
study says Oahu and the Big Island hold the most promise
-- the Big Island because it has many of the renewable resources
needed for pollution-free hydrogen, Oahu because it's where
the people are. Maui and Kauai also have potential to produce
hydrogen.
The study recommends the Legislature spend $1 million
a year for the next three to five years to conduct further
studies
and begin pilot projects. It calls for the formation of public-private
partnerships to spur economic development in this area and
suggests creating free-trade zones, offering tax incentives
and approving plans to require a certain percentage of energy
used in the state come from renewable portfolios.
"
The idea is to offer production incentives to develop a hydrogen-based
economy in Hawaii," says Rep. Brian Schatz, D-Tantalus-Makiki. "To
the extent the state can help the industry to become viable,
it's in our best long-term economic interests."
Lawmakers
are preparing to introduce bills based on the study recommendations,
says Sen. Lorraine Inouye, D-North Hilo-South
Kohala-North Kona. The state also is working to establish
a fuel cell demonstration project at the National Tropic
Botanical Gardens in Hana to power the garden's visitor center,
Morita says. An international conference that will discuss
fuel cell technology is scheduled for Hawaii in March.
In
development
The state is getting $1.5 million this year from the U.S.
Department of Defense budget for a fuel cell research project
between the University of Hawaii's Natural Energy Institute
and the Naval Research Laboratory. The focus will be on developing
military applications of fuel cell technology, says Richard
Rocheleau, the interim director of the Natural Energy Institute
and manager of the university's hydrogen development program.
"
Not necessarily for powering ships, but for portable energy
supplies," like transport vehicles, Rocheleau says.
The university and state also are in negotiations with International
Fuel Cells Inc. to have the company build a fuel cell testing
facility in Hawaii. In return, Rocheleau says, the company
will use the center to test new prototypes.
"
It's the first step, I hope, to a longer-term relationship," Rocheleau
says.
IFC officials were in Hawaii earlier this month and say talks
to provide assistance to the state are in the preliminary
stages. The company is a subsidiary of Connecticut-based
United Technologies Inc. IFC has provided fuel cell technology
to NASA from the Apollo space missions in the 1960s through
the space shuttle missions of today.
"
We are very early in our discussions with the state," says
Tracy Cordes, IFC's western regional manager. "They
seem very interested and we are having a conversation about
how fuel cells might support their current infrastructure."
Hawaii offers a good opportunity for fuel cells because of
its remote locations, its highest-in-the-nation costs for
electricity and because of the attractiveness of using a
pollution-free energy source, Cordes says.
Lovins agrees, and says Hawaii could thrive in a hydrogen-based
economy. "With renewables like wind and photovoltaic,
the islands are blessed and have some of the best wind sites
and some of the best solar sites in the country, in the world," Lovins
says.
Hydrogen hang-ups
Problems that must be resolved before hydrogen can be mass-produced
include finding reliable methods of producing hydrogen without
using polluting fossil fuels; creating delivery systems to
bring hydrogen to users; lowering costs that at this point
are prohibitive for widespread use; and overcoming fears
caused by the explosions of the space shuttle Challenger
in 1986 and the famed Hindenburg disaster in 1937.
The late
Hawaii Sen. Spark Matsunaga began touting hydrogen as an
energy source in the 1970s. When he died in 1990, Congress
passed the Spark Matsunaga Hydrogen Act, which led to federal
assistance for hydrogen research. And while President Clinton
signed a bill last year approving $100 million for fuel cell
research, Morita says that's just one-tenth the amount of
money going into coal research.
While current commercial
fuel cells are used mainly by resorts that can make use of
the water that is produced to heat or
cool rooms, or by tech companies that want better quality
of electricity to protect data, the next generation being
developed will be small enough for use in homes and vehicles.
Buses are among the first vehicles to test fuel cells, since
they all return to a central location that can be used as
a hydrogen refueling center. Pilot projects are being conducted
in Vancouver, British Columbia; Chicago; and Palm Springs,
Calif., Morita says. Also, IFC is working with bus manufacturer
Thor Industries Inc. to provide fuel cells to bus fleets.
Cheryl Soon, transportation director for the City and County
of Honolulu, says she's been told widespread use of fuel
cells in buses and autos is 15 to 20 years away. The city
continues to study alternative fuel options, but is not presently
involved in any projects using fuel cells.
"
We are definitely keeping close tabs on the industry," Soon
says. At least eight major automakers have pledged to put
fuel cell vehicles into mass production, with Daimler-Chrysler
pledging to produce 100,000 fuel cell-powered vehicles by
2005. Honda is running television ads touting the future
release of a fuel cell car.
The Rocky Mountain Institute
is working with the federal government, oil giant BP-Amoco,
Sun Microsystems and others
to develop a car that runs entirely on fuel cells, says Lovins,
who is part of the research team. "It will be the equivalent
of a 35-kilowatt power station on wheels," Lovins says.
People will be able to use that power source to provide electricity
to their homes and also will be able to sell excess power
back to the utility company when the car is parked. "It
will not be long before you take your hyper-vehicle to work
and ... while you sit at your desk, your second-biggest household
asset will be serving as a profit center, sending 35 kilowatts
of power to Hawaiian Electric or whoever at the real-time
price," Lovins says. "A person will be able to
earn back a third to a half of the cost of their car."
Hawaiian
Electric Industries Inc. and its subsidiaries are contributing
$1.9 million a year to the Electric Power Research
Institute, a national organization that pools resources from
utilities for use into energy research, including fuel cells
and microturbines.
"
Our companies are very supportive and interested in the development
of new options and alternatives for meeting our customers'
power needs," says Lynne Unemori, spokeswoman for the
utility. "Our job is to manage a big picture, long-term
plan for Hawaii's energy needs that is flexible enough to
accommodate new technologies while still ensuring that the
power is there when you need it at a cost that's reasonable
for customers."
Mark Sagoff, a professor at the University
of Maryland, which has its own fuel cell bus demonstration
project, agrees that
it's hard to predict when fuel cells will gain widespread
use. "It's too hard to say, there are so many rumors
now," Sagoff says. "The Japanese are doing it,
the Germans are doing it, everybody is planning to get it.
There is obviously a lot of venture capital involved. The
problem is getting down the costs."
Reach Ben DiPietro by e-mail bdipietro@ bizjournals.com or
by phone at 955-80391
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