Billion-Dollar ‘Pink Hydrogen’ Plan on Hold as US Weighs Rules
Constellation Energy has paused its efforts to make hydrogen using nuclear power as the Biden administration considers limiting tax credits.
A cooling tower at Constellation Energy’s Nine Mile Point Nuclear Station in Oswego County, New York.
Photographer: Lauren Petracca/BloombergConstellation Energy Corp. has an ambitious $1 billion plan to produce hydrogen using carbon-free nuclear power. But the plan is on hold — and may be derailed completely — as the company awaits guidance from Washington on a tax credit that’s expected to play a key role in efforts to use the gas to decarbonize heavy industries.
The US Treasury Department is expected to issue rules in the coming months clarifying how hydrogen suppliers will qualify for a subsidy of as much as $3 per kilogram that’s included in the Inflation Reduction Act. The industry has been waiting for guidance since the landmark law was signed in August, and the fate of Constellation’s plan hinges on whether the Biden administration imposes strict limits urged by environmentalists and some Democratic lawmakers.