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 urges the US Treasury and IRS to uphold the 'three pillars' of incrementality, deliverability, and hourly time-matching for the 45V Clean Hydrogen Production Tax Credit. The organization warns that weakening these rules would lead to 'greenwashing' and significantly increase greenhouse gas emissions, potentially adding 200 to 1,000 million metric tons of CO2 annually by 2032. It argues that strict rules incentivize innovation in flexible technologies and new renewables, whereas loose rules would encourage a reliance on existing nuclear plants and fossil fuel ramp-ups. The testimony recommends rejecting broad exemptions for existing clean energy and maintaining the 2028 hourly matching phase-in date.

• Failure to adhere to the three pillars of incrementality, deliverability, and hourly time-matching would result in electrolytic hydrogen production that generates greenhouse gas emissions two to five times higher than current production methods.
• A broad five percent exemption for existing clean energy generation 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.
• Strict rules encourage the pairing of electrolyzers with new renewables and drive investment in flexibility and hydrogen storage, whereas loose rules risk creating a 'flash in the pan' industry reliant on existing nuclear plants that cannot survive post-subsidy.
• Evidence from Princeton cost studies and the European experience suggests that projects compliant with the three pillars can be profitable and that similar strict rules in Europe have seen investment increase.

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} }