Hydrogen fueling stations

From Sunshine Review

In March 2009, South Carolina political and business leaders unveiled the state’s new “Hydrogen Highway,” opening hydrogen fueling stations in Columbia, SC, and Aiken, SC. The two publicly funded stations equaled twice the number of hydrogen vehicles operating in our state.

At the time, SC House Speaker Bobby Harrell, a big proponent of hydrogen research, likened the opening of the Hydrogen Highway to the laying of railroad tracks before that mode of transportation had really caught on.

“And hydrogen fueling stations are much cheaper to build than railroad tracks,” Harrell told The Aiken Standard.^[1]

Given the spotty financial record of many of South Carolina’s early railroads, that model may not be an ideal one for the state to follow, the South Carolina Policy Council pointed out. ^[2] Still, a genuine need existed for early railroad transportation. That is not the case with the Hydrogen Highway.

Today, there is one operational hydrogen-fueled vehicle in the state, a $175,000 Chevy Silverado truck in Aiken. A second vehicle, a Federal Transit Administration bus, is expected to begin a one-year demonstration in Columbia in fall 2009. The hydrogen bus is a prototype with an estimated price tag of $1.2 million to $1.4 million.^[3]

[edit] What it costs

The fueling stations cost between $1.2 million-$1.5 million apiece, with nearly all that money coming from tax dollars.^[4]

In the case of the Columbia fueling station, the city of Columbia contributed $840,000, EngenuitySC put in $325,000 from a federal grant, the S.C. Research Authority and SC Launch! added $300,000, and the University of South Carolina-Columbia Fuel Cell Collaborative (comprised of USC, the city of Columbia, EngenuitySC and the SC Research Authority) contributed the remaining $48,000.^[5]

Later, the SC General Assembly approved a proviso in the 2009-10 budget that paid off the city of Columbia's $840,000 investment, originally taken out through a loan through the SC Energy Office.

Even with the two fueling stations, it doesn't appear there will be much demand for use, the Policy Council reported.

"The high cost of hydrogen fuel cells pushes vehicle prices from $100,000 to more than $1 million, and that doesn’t even include the cost of the fuel. Hydrogen at the Columbia site costs $9.50-$10 per gallon. Hydrogen fuel also has to be shipped from out of state because none is produced in South Carolina."^[6]

[edit] External links

• Aiken Standard: Hydrogen Station Formally Opens.
• Hydrogen Research Wastes Scarce Tax Dollars.
• Charleston Post and Courier: Hydrogen Research on the Rise.
• Hydrogen Highway a Lonely Stretch of Road.

[edit] References

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