Sen. Brad Hawkins’ bill to promote hydrogen-powered vehicles has been approved by the Legislature.
The House of Representatives today voted 93-4 to approve Senate Bill 5000, which would establish an eight-year statewide pilot project for the reduction of sales tax on purchases of fuel-cell electric vehicles. The Senate last month voted 49-0 to pass it. In total, the bill was approved by five different legislative committees, three in the Senate and two in the House. It now heads to Gov. Jay Inslee for his consideration.
“It was quite the journey, but I’m pleased there was strong support in the Legislature for this bill and I’m optimistic Governor Inslee will sign it into law,” said Hawkins, who represents the 12th District. “Our state is still in its infancy regarding electric vehicles, so I think it’s helpful to promote different types of zero-emission vehicles, both battery electrics and fuel-cell electrics. Washington has the potential to be a key producer of renewable hydrogen, and I’m excited about its future.”
Back in 2019, the Legislature approved Hawkins-sponsored Senate Bill 5588, which authorizes public utility districts to produce and sell “renewable hydrogen.”
“The people of North Central Washington have been leaders in clean energy for decades and now we’re in a position to lead the United States on renewable hydrogen use in transportation, including production, distribution, vehicles, transit buses, short-haul agriculture, and long-haul opportunities. It’s pretty exciting when you think about it, especially knowing my region’s long and proud history of clean energy,” said Hawkins.
Hydrogen can be created from a process that separates the hydrogen and oxygen molecules in water. The Douglas County Public Utility District in Hawkins’ district plans to utilize its surplus hydropower to do just that, creating renewable hydrogen from excess renewable hydropower and possibly also building hydrogen fueling stations. The PUD’s hydrogen production facility near East Wenatchee is expected to be completed toward the end of this year.
SB 5000 aims to extend a similar exemption on vehicle sales tax that purchasers of traditional electric vehicles receive. With the first hydrogen-fueling stations in Washington expected to be operational by 2022, the bill would allow a total of 650 vehicles to receive a 50-percent sales tax exemption in fiscal years 2023 through 2029.
Even though hydrogen vehicles are newer to the market and slightly more expensive due to having not been in mass production nationwide, they have shown tremendous promise given how quickly they refuel and the limited infrastructure required to get the fuel to the station.
Hawkins said his bill would help establish important parity between fuel-cell electric vehicles and traditional plug-in electrics.
“In our efforts to promote carbon-free vehicles, our state policies should be ‘technologically neutral’ so that we can give ourselves varied opportunities to reduce emissions and not unintentionally bias ourselves in the process,” Hawkins said. “Similar to diesel and gas, maybe there will always be multiple fuel sources for next-generation cars or maybe someday hydrogen vehicles will be the preferred choice.”
More Info: Renewable hydrogen could play a key role in Washington’s clean-energy future (Sen. Hawkins, Seattle Times, 12/15/20).
Photo captions:
Photo 1: Photo quote of Senator Hawkins discussing renewable hydrogen.
Photo 2: A hydrogen vehicle refuels in 3-5 minutes.
Photo 3: The 2021 Toyota Mirai is a zero-emissions fuel cell electric car and only discharges water.
Photo 4: Hydrogen fuel cell semi-trucks are manufactured in Washington – more info here.