Search Climate Insights Directory

This research note by Energy Innovation argues that the U.S. Treasury Department must maintain the "three pillars" (incremental, deliverable, and hourly-matched clean electricity) in the final rules for the Section 45V Clean Hydrogen Production Tax Credit. The author contends that weakening these rules would undermine climate goals, increase electricity costs for consumers, and stifle the development of a flexible, domestic electrolyzer industry.

This appendix provides a financial viability analysis of 'export-only' electrolyzer projects in the United States, which utilize co-located new clean energy resources and allow for opportunistic electricity sales to the grid. The analysis concludes that such projects, which comply with the three principles of additionality, deliverability, and hourly time-matching, are competitive across large portions of the U.S., suggesting that rigorous 45V tax credit guidance regarding lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions would not hinder industry growth.