Hydrogen Under 45V: Analyzing Electricity Availability Under Proposed Rules for the Hydrogen Tax Credit

The report finds that there are enough projected tax credit-qualifying Energy Attribute Certificates (EACs) to meet the stated electrolytic hydrogen production goals across the seven Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs. However, it identifies the lack of developed markets and data infrastructure for accessing these EACs as a critical challenge. The analysis suggests that while the physical availability of clean power is sufficient, the primary bottlenecks for the green hydrogen economy are traditional deployment issues such as siting, permitting, and interconnection.

• There is sufficient availability of tax credit-qualifying Energy Attribute Certificates (EACs) to support the electrolytic hydrogen production goals of all seven Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs.
• The primary obstacle to utilizing these EACs is the underdeveloped system of markets, contracts, and data infrastructure required for their effective operation and procurement.
• By 2035, if all forecasted eligible clean attributes were dedicated to hydrogen production, the US could achieve an average of 24 million metric tons of hydrogen production per year using approximately 210 gigawatts of electrolyzers.
• Regional availability of EACs varies, with the Plains and Midwest regions capable of supporting higher production levels than currently proposed, while the Northwest region faces more limited availability and higher competition for attributes.
• Competing demand for hourly EACs from other sectors, specifically the projected growth of US datacenter electricity demand from 17 GW to 35 GW by 2030, could reduce the market depth available to hydrogen producers.
• The fundamental bottlenecks for the green hydrogen economy are physical deployment challenges rather than accounting or attribute availability, including siting, permitting, interconnection, and regional transmission.

APA

RMI (2024). Hydrogen Under 45V: Analyzing Electricity Availability Under Proposed Rules for the Hydrogen Tax Credit. https://rmi.org/resources/hydrogen-under-45v-analyzing-electricity-availability-under-proposed-rules-for-the-hydrogen-tax-credit/

Chicago

RMI. Hydrogen Under 45V: Analyzing Electricity Availability Under Proposed Rules for the Hydrogen Tax Credit. 2024. https://rmi.org/resources/hydrogen-under-45v-analyzing-electricity-availability-under-proposed-rules-for-the-hydrogen-tax-credit/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=RMI |title=Hydrogen Under 45V: Analyzing Electricity Availability Under Proposed Rules for the Hydrogen Tax Credit |date=12 April 2024 |url=https://rmi.org/resources/hydrogen-under-45v-analyzing-electricity-availability-under-proposed-rules-for-the-hydrogen-tax-credit/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rmi2024hydrogen, author = {{RMI}}, title = {{Hydrogen Under 45V: Analyzing Electricity Availability Under Proposed Rules for the Hydrogen Tax Credit}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2024}, month = apr, url = {https://rmi.org/resources/hydrogen-under-45v-analyzing-electricity-availability-under-proposed-rules-for-the-hydrogen-tax-credit/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }