Good morning and happy Friday,

It's a topsy-turvy world these days, one in which home electricity bills are set to rise an average of 2% this summer, despite the fact that inflation and gasoline prices are falling. In California, environmentalists pleased by legislative progress on climate are “dealing with a bit of dog-that-caught-the-car confusion” as they oppose follow-up legislation necessary to actually get infrastructure built. And although the Biden-Harris Administration just released a Notice of Intent to spur clean hydrogen production, as outlined in this week’s Radar article below, it ain’t easy being green.

Read on for more.

Offshore wind developer Orsted secured a couple of wins this past week that will pave the way for the company to move forward with its 1.1 GW Ocean Wind 1 project, which would be New Jersey’s first offshore wind farm. Here’s what happened:

• The project is located in waters under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management; on July 5, the Biden-Harris Administration gave the project a thumbs up to proceed with construction, although additional approvals are still needed. 
• On June 27, the state legislature approved a bill allowing Orsted to keep federal tax credits earned by the project, and Governor Phil Murphy is expected to sign it into law. Orsted had previously agreed to pass these benefits on to ratepayers but requested the legislative change citing “lingering economic effects from the COVID-19 pandemic and elevated inflation.” 
• Atlantic Shores, a 50:50 venture between EDF Renewables and Shell, is also proposed for New Jersey waters. It too has been affected by significant cost changes and has called for “an industry-wide solution, one that stabilizes all current projects,” arguing that “Hundreds of millions in infrastructure investments will be forgone without a path forward.”

Grab the brass ring. While opponents of offshore wind have decried the change, advocates of economic development have praised it. CEO of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority Tim Sullivan asked “Does New Jersey want to lead or be left out of the jobs and economic development? Other states want this just as badly as we do, if not worse. We have it within our grasp to be a leader.” Atlantic Shores agrees: “Tens of thousands of real, well-paid and unionized jobs are at risk.”

Hydrogen is a versatile, zero-carbon fuel that has the potential to play a big role in decarbonizing the economy, especially for sectors that are “hard to abate” because they don’t lend themselves easily to being powered by clean electricity. The IRA contains tens of billions of dollars in tax credits for clean hydrogen, but there’s a lot of disagreement about what that means. In a three-part series, Canary Media digs into the debate – here are a few hy-lights:

• The crux of the issue is that it takes energy to run the electrolyzers used to split water molecules into oxygen and hydrogen. Power your electrolyzer with wind or solar, and voila! You have green hydrogen. Power it with fossil fuels, and you could wind up with more GHG emissions than if you’d just burned the fossil fuels to make power. 
• Limiting tax credits to electrolyzers powered by new, carbon-free electricity is one solution. However, most companies with big hydrogen plans say this would “strangle a nascent and still cost-uncompetitive industry in its cradle.” These participants argue that looser rules are needed, at least in the early years, while the industry is finding its feet.
• Co-locating electrolyzers with renewable energy sources and only running them when clean power is generated will obviously limit the supply of green hydrogen. Renewable energy credits can be used to track and offset the emissions associated with electricity used to run electrolyzers. Still, unless this is done with hourly matching, many would argue the resulting hydrogen isn’t truly “green.”

Growing pains. As more renewable energy is added to the grid, the carbon intensity of the generation mixes across the country will continue to decrease – but that doesn’t offer an adequate solution for the near term. Requiring hourly matching to qualify for clean hydrogen tax credits seems feasible, given the prevalence of renewable energy tracking systems like the Midwest Renewable Energy Tracking System (M-RETS). Here’s hoping this debate ends on a hy note.

• Makeover:How old coal plants could help fuel a renewable boom
• Rooftop Rumblings: Can rooftop solar alone solve climate change? 
• Let Em Work: U.S. green job postings jumped 20%, but green talent grew only 8.4%

• Twin setbacks for offshore wind in Maine
• SUP extension denied in Lee County
• TED’s Gem City Solar project moves forward in Dayton after approval
• Arrival of large-scale solar projects in Nebraska met with resistance

Solar installations are becoming ubiquitous in many parts of the world, which is great for clean energy production. However, all good things must come to an end, and although the lifespans of solar panels are increasing, so is the amount of waste from damaged or discarded panels.

Unlike the other parts of a solar array that are relatively easy to recycle, panels present a bit of a tricky wicket because they are composed of many layers of material sandwiched together. Fortunately, some

clever Aussies from the University of Macquarie have proposed a new solution: nuking panels in the equivalent of a kitchen microwave to make it easier to separate the layers and recover materials.

Advantages of this approach are that it avoids the need to use harsh chemicals to delaminate the layers; it also makes it possible to disassemble the panel without breaking the glass, which increases the value of the glass for recycling purposes. In the end, the chief benefit is that it could lower the cost of recycling, while also increasing the value of the materials recovered. Bonzer!