New Hampshire § 362-H-3 - Section 362-H:3 Hydrogen Advisory Committee Established.

§ 362-H-3. Section 362-H:3 Hydrogen Advisory Committee Established.

There is a hydrogen advisory committee established in the department of energy, through the office of energy innovation. I. The advisory committee shall consist of: (a) The commissioner of the department of energy, or designee. (b) The commissioner of the department of business and economic affairs, or designee. (c) The commissioner of the department of environmental services, or designee. (d) The chair of the site evaluation committee, or designee. (e) The commissioner of the department of transportation, or designee. (f) The chair of the Pease development authority board of directors, or designee. II. The advisory committee shall have the following duties: (a) Examine the production of hydrogen from any renewable energy source. (b) Investigate and evaluate existing state and federal laws, regulations and funding sources and recommend legislation related to the production, use, distribution and storage of hydrogen. (c) Identify opportunities to integrate hydrogen in the transportation, energy, industrial, and other sectors. (d) Identify barriers to the widespread development of hydrogen and recommend government policies to catalyze the deployment of hydrogen in the state economy. (e) Consider a plan to create, support, develop, or partner with a Hydrogen Hub in this state, under federal funding provisions, and determine, how to maximize federal financial incentives to support Hub development. (f) Consider the construction of a dedicated hydrogen pipeline or network of pipelines to serve users of hydrogen in this state, including power generation, transportation, manufacturing, and energy storage facilities. (g) Consider facilities that result in the blending of hydrogen into existing natural gas transmission and distribution systems that serve residential, commercial, transportation, and industrial uses, and consider policy recommendations for inclusion of hydrogen production from fossil fuel feedstock. (h) Streamline the permitting processes for hydrogen facilities and infrastructure, including other carbon use applications and any other issues that the committee deems necessary. (i) Examine cost-effective industrial rates for hydrogen production and flexible energy generation configurations to maximize federal funding for hydrogen facilities, and serves the long-term interests of ratepayers, and cost-effectively avoids or defers distribution system costs. (j) Review the safety standards regarding the production, use, distribution and storage of hydrogen by state agencies. (k) Consider regenerative fuel cell generation by utilities or private entities that provides distribution system benefits, including, but not limited to, avoiding or deferring distribution capacity upgrades, and enhancing distribution system reliability, including, but not limited to, voltage or frequency improvements. (l) Determine whether hydrogen energy and infrastructure projects with a capacity to generate over 20 MW of energy should be evaluated and approved by the site evaluation committee under RSA 162-H. III. The advisory committee shall report to the governor, the president of the senate, the speaker of the house of representatives, the chair of senate energy and natural resources committee, the chair of house science, technology, and energy committee on October 1 of each year on its activities, findings, and recommendations.