Constellation's $1B clean hydrogen plan on hold pending U.S. rule - Bloomberg
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Constellation Energy (NASDAQ:CEG) has paused a $1B plan to produce hydrogen using nuclear power as the company awaits guidance from the Biden administration on a key tax credit, Bloomberg reported Tuesday.
Constellation (CEG) CEO Joe Dominguez told Bloomberg the lack of clarity has paralyzed the company's efforts to introduce hydrogen production across its nuclear fleet in the midwestern U.S.
"The uncertainty around the regulations has brought us pretty much to a full stop," Dominguez said, according to the report, warning that proposed European Union-style "additionality" rules on the Inflation Reduction Act's planned federal subsidies would effectively put a stop to all pink hydrogen production in the U.S.
Under current rules, eligibility for the maximum $3/kg tax credit under the IRA would be determined by a carbon intensity limit which both pink hydrogen and green hydrogen made with renewable energy would easily meet.
But U.S. officials are under increasing pressure to introduce strict additionality criteria that would mostly limit subsidies to facilities that can prove they are using new capacity only.
The U.S. Department of Energy is expected to rule on the matter in the coming months.
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