Breakthrough Technologies Institute - Fuel Cells 2000

the wastewater treatment facility. Installed in 2004, the installation was funded by King
County and EPA.
Washington State Highway Patrol Emergency-911 system and Washington State
Department of Transportation Emergency-911 system: ReliOn PEM fuel cells
provide back-up power to the state’s critical communication systems.
1. PLANS/STRATEGIES
WEST VIRGINIA
West Virginia Energy Roadmap: 2001 - 2020
www.wvenergyroadmapworkshops.org/index.cfm
The Governor’s Energy Task Force delivered an Energy Roadmap in 2002, outlining
policy recommendations that would use of the state’s abundant domestic fossil fuels and
stimulate the development of advanced technologies, while also limiting pollution and
generating employment opportunities.
One of the report’s three “Energy Generation Action Items” focuses on hydrogen
production: “It is recommended that West Virginia utilize its abundant coal and natural
gas resources in the production of hydrogen, which is poised to have a major impact on
the American economy through the development of hydrogen-powered fuel cells for
automobiles and other applications.”
The West Virginia Energy Roadmap Workshop on Hydrogen was held in November,
2003 and attended by government, industry, and academia. The workshop resulted in
the development of several strategic objectives:
• Educate, network and establish plan for future opportunities between
government, academia and private industry;
• Pursue coal-to-hydrogen technology through the federal FutureGen program
focusing on gasification technology, with carbon sequestration to occur in
coal seams or in saline formations that are abundant within the state; and
• Educate the public and identify regulatory barriers that may slow adaptation
of hydrogen technologies.
Other action items include developing a hydrogen plan, streamlining or simplifying
carbon dioxide injection permitting, charging the Economic Development Office to
identify the best sites, providing tax incentives for a hydrogen research consortium, and
developing a marketing strategy. Two Hydrogen Roadmap studies were subsequently
commissioned, including:
• Carbon Sequestration Study –- The West Virginia Geological and Economic
Survey is conducting site-specific carbon sequestration studies to identify
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