2024-09-26 PL-INT-2024-008822 GP 2045 Draft Comments - T. Keeney

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respectively. • The market is churning out ever-increasingly diverse, affordable, longer-range EVs in response to consumer demand. The same cannot be said for FCEVs. Global sales continue to be a small fraction of that of EVs. This has implications in servicing, fueling, and supplying FCEVs. • There are obvious challenges associated with the creation of non-fossil fuel- based hydrogen. Most of the global hydrogen is produced from coal or gas. For it to be meaningful in Hawaii, we first need to meet our need for affordable electricity and transportation and do so with an abundance of firm renewable power. • SB2570 SD1 has the potential to negatively impact the expansion of public charging infrastructure. As stipulated in the measure, ONE hydrogen fueling station rebate is as much as $200,000. (A) $4,500 for the installation of an alternating current Level 2 station with two or more ports; (and] (B) $35,000 for the installation of a direct current fast charging system; and (C) $200,000 for the installation of a hydrogen refueling station; provided that it does not store or dispense hydrogen fuel that is produced using fossil fuels; and A$200,000 hydrogen fueling station rebate will support the installation of over 40 Level 2 charging stations or 5 DC Fast Chargers. Testimony by 350Hawaii on that same Bill stated that currently there are 18,000 registered Battery Electric Vehicles in Hawaii but only 37 Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles. Globally, 16,000 Hydrogen vehicles were sold in 2021. In that same year the total number of new cars sold was 67 million, one in 4,000 being hydrogen powered. They strongly advocate that siphoning energy and funding away from supporting a robust battery charging infrastructure to support elements of a Hydrogen transportation infrastructure would only delay our transition to a clean energy future. Again, from a 2020 article, (because not many are speaking of Hydrogen transportation in 2023) we find a similar analysis: Let's take 100 watts of electricity produced by a renewable source such as a wind turbine. To power an FCEV, that energy has to be converted into hydrogen, possibly by passing it through water (the electrolysis process). This is around 75% energy-efficient, so around one-quarter of the electricity is automatically lost. The hydrogen produced has to be compressed, chilled and transported to the hydrogen station, a process that is around 90% efficient. Once inside the vehicle, the hydrogen needs to be converted into electricity, which is 60% efficient. Finally the electricity used in the motor to move the vehicle is is around 95% efficient. Put together, only 38% of the original electricity — 38 watts out of 100 — are used. With electric vehicles, the energy runs on wires all the way from the source to the car. The same 100 watts of power from the same turbine loses about 5% of efficiency in this journey through the grid (in the case of hydrogen, I'm assuming the conversion takes place