美国国家公共电台 NPR--Colorado pushes ahead in green hydrogen — a new technology to curb global warming

Colorado pushes ahead in green hydrogen — a new technology to curb¹ global warming

Transcript²

Colorado is leading the way on standards for green hydrogen, a young industry that could play a major role in helping³ the U.S. meet its climate goals.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

The federal government is betting on a new technology to curb global warming. It's called green hydrogen. So what is that? Colorado Public Radio's Sam Brasch went to find out.

SAM BRASCH, BYLINE⁴: If you want to understand hydrogen, head to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colo. It's raining on the day I visit. For Keith Wipke, who leads the lab's hydrogen research, that rain looks a lot like a future energy source.

KEITH WIPKE: So lots of fuel from the sky coming down in the form of water.

BRASCH: (Laughter).

WIPKE: We just need some wind and solar to split it into hydrogen.

BRASCH: This is the alchemy Wipke wants to perfect, using clean energy to draw hydrogen out of plain old water. Inside the lab, we see a device called an electrolyzer. Water is piped in. Wires add power. Then it splits the H2O into oxygen and hydrogen, which bubbles out the other end.

WIPKE: The unique thing about hydrogen is it's a molecule⁵. And so you can move it around physically⁶. You can store it. It just stays there. And you can use it later.

BRASCH: That's why hydrogen could someday replace fossil fuels, like jet fuel in aircraft or diesel⁷ in long haul trucks. And using it doesn't release any climate-warming pollution. But here's the tricky⁸ part. To make this kind of hydrogen, you need electricity. And to make truly green hydrogen, you need clean electricity, like wind and solar. And now the federal government is set to spend billions on credits for hydrogen production. That's thanks to President Biden's Inflation Reduction Act, a massive climate bill passed last year. Environmental advocates are worried. Rachel Fakhry is with the Natural Resources Defense⁹ Council. She says there's a real risk the credits lead power plants to burn more fossil fuels.

RACHEL FAKHRY: So unless we have very strong guardrails around how this electricity is being sourced, we may end up with very high emissions¹⁰.

BRASCH: That's why Fakhry says companies should be required to build new wind and solar to power their operations, or at least only run their systems when lots of clean energy is on the grid¹¹. But early hydrogen investors¹² say that could kneecap their industry.

FRANK WOLAK: They've kind of lost the big picture of decarbonization by focusing on these narrow items.

BRASCH: Frank Wolak leads the Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Energy Association. It represents hydrogen backers like carmakers and tech companies. And Wolak says the real issue isn't all the electricity his industry needs, it's all the coal and gas currently powering the grid.

WOLAK: The larger picture is we need more renewable resources, more clean energy in the U.S. as fast as possible if we're going to achieve our decarbonization goals.

BRASCH: And in this super technical debate, Colorado might have an answer.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: The exciting HB23-1281 up next.

BRASCH: Earlier this year, state lawmakers proposed state-level hydrogen subsidies¹³, funding to complement¹⁴ the coming flood of federal tax credits. State representative Brianna Titone, a Democratic sponsor, said the plan strikes a balance between protecting the climate and the flexibility¹⁵ needed to build an industry almost from scratch.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

BRIANNA TITONE: We are on the right track. It's going to bring a lot of money to Colorado, a lot of jobs. And we're going to help reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.

BRASCH: Here's the final deal. To get public money, hydrogen producers must eventually rely on renewable power sources. But the most rigid¹⁶ rules won't kick in until 2028. Will Toor leads the Colorado Energy Office and oversees¹⁷ state climate efforts. He says that should give companies some room to grow.

WILL TOOR: It will take a while for economies of scale and innovation and learning by doing to help drive down costs and allow you to deploy¹⁸ at a really large scale.

BRASCH: And Toor says that could be essential to confront human-caused climate change. And it's why he thinks Colorado and the rest of the country needs to get hydrogen policy right from the start.

For NPR News, I'm Sam Brasch in Denver.

(SOUNDBITE OF EMANCIPATOR'S "AWAKENINGS")

1 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 molecule   

n.分子，克分子

参考例句：

• A molecule of water is made up of two atoms of hygrogen and one atom of oxygen.一个水分子是由P妈̬f婘̬ 妈̬成的。
• This gives us the structural formula of the molecule.这种方式给出了分子的结构式。

6 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

7 diesel   

n.柴油发动机，内燃机

参考例句：

• We experimented with diesel engines to drive the pumps.我们试着用柴油机来带动水泵。
• My tractor operates on diesel oil.我的那台拖拉机用柴油开动。

8 tricky   

adj.狡猾的，奸诈的；(工作等)棘手的，微妙的

参考例句：

• I'm in a rather tricky position.Can you help me out?我的处境很棘手，你能帮我吗？
• He avoided this tricky question and talked in generalities.他回避了这个非常微妙的问题，只做了个笼统的表述。

9 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

10 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

11 grid   

n.高压输电线路网；地图坐标方格；格栅

参考例句：

• In this application,the carrier is used to encapsulate the grid.在这种情况下，要用载体把格栅密封起来。
• Modern gauges consist of metal foil in the form of a grid.现代应变仪则由网格形式的金属片组成。

12 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

13 subsidies   

n.补贴，津贴，补助金( subsidy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• European agriculture ministers failed to break the deadlock over farm subsidies. 欧洲各国农业部长在农业补贴问题上未能打破僵局。
• Agricultural subsidies absorb about half the EU's income. 农业补贴占去了欧盟收入的大约一半。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 complement   

n.补足物，船上的定员；补语；vt.补充，补足

参考例句：

• The two suggestions complement each other.这两条建议相互补充。
• They oppose each other also complement each other.它们相辅相成。

15 flexibility   

n.柔韧性，弹性，（光的）折射性，灵活性

参考例句：

• Her great strength lies in her flexibility.她的优势在于她灵活变通。
• The flexibility of a man's muscles will lessen as he becomes old.人老了肌肉的柔韧性将降低。

16 rigid   

adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的

参考例句：

• She became as rigid as adamant.她变得如顽石般的固执。
• The examination was so rigid that nearly all aspirants were ruled out.考试很严，几乎所有的考生都被淘汰了。

17 oversees   

v.监督，监视( oversee的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She oversees both the research and the manufacturing departments. 她既监督研究部门又监督生产部门。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Department of Education oversees the federal programs dealing with education. 教育部监管处理教育的联邦程序。 来自互联网

18 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。