Energy Innovation Oral Testimony to the United States Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service 45V Clean Hydrogen Production Tax Credit (REG-117631-23)

This oral testimony from Energy Innovation to the U.S. Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service argues for the retention of strict "three pillars" (incrementality, deliverability, and hourly time-matching) for the 45V Clean Hydrogen Production Tax Credit. The author contends that weakening these rules would lead to significant greenhouse gas emissions, undermine the long-term viability of the hydrogen industry, and result in the misuse of taxpayer funds.

• Energy Innovation argues that electrolytic hydrogen production failing to meet the three pillars of incrementality, deliverability, and hourly time-matching would result in greenhouse gas emissions two to five times higher than current hydrogen production methods.
• According to an Evolved Energy Research study, the 45V credit could drive 11 to 26 million metric tons of electrolytic hydrogen production annually by 2032; without the three pillars, this could increase emissions by 200 to 1,000 million metric tons of CO2 per year, costing taxpayers between 30 and 80 billion dollars annually.
• The author asserts that a broad five percent exemption for existing clean energy generation from incrementality would not effectively reduce curtailment and would instead cause fossil fuel plants to increase production, leading to 30 to 60 million metric tons of carbon pollution annually.
• The testimony claims that lax rules would encourage a "race to the bottom" by incentivizing the use of cheap electrolyzers paired with existing nuclear plants to maximize tax credits, creating projects that are not financially viable once subsidies expire.
• Energy Innovation recommends that the Treasury Department maintain the 2028 phase-in date for hourly matching without grandfathering and use annual averaging for hourly emissions to prevent the cross-subsidization of dirty production.

APA

Esposito, D. (2024). Energy Innovation Oral Testimony to the United States Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service 45V Clean Hydrogen Production Tax Credit (REG-117631-23). Energy Innovation. https://energyinnovation.org/wp-content/uploads/Energy-Innovation-Treasury-IRS-45V-NPRM-Public-Testimony-REG-117631-23.pdf

Chicago

Esposito, Dan. Energy Innovation Oral Testimony to the United States Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service 45V Clean Hydrogen Production Tax Credit (REG-117631-23). Energy Innovation, 2024. https://energyinnovation.org/wp-content/uploads/Energy-Innovation-Treasury-IRS-45V-NPRM-Public-Testimony-REG-117631-23.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Esposito |first1=Dan |title=Energy Innovation Oral Testimony to the United States Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service 45V Clean Hydrogen Production Tax Credit (REG-117631-23) |publisher=Energy Innovation |date=26 March 2024 |url=https://energyinnovation.org/wp-content/uploads/Energy-Innovation-Treasury-IRS-45V-NPRM-Public-Testimony-REG-117631-23.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{esposito2024energy, author = {Esposito, Dan}, title = {{Energy Innovation Oral Testimony to the United States Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service 45V Clean Hydrogen Production Tax Credit (REG-117631-23)}}, publisher = {Energy Innovation}, year = {2024}, month = mar, url = {https://energyinnovation.org/wp-content/uploads/Energy-Innovation-Treasury-IRS-45V-NPRM-Public-Testimony-REG-117631-23.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }