Reuters is reporting that the Biden administration will award federal grants to two ‘hydrogen hubs’ that are partly based in Pennsylvania – the Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen (ARCH2) and Mid-Atlantic Clean Hydrogen (MACH2) projects. 

The award announcements are likely to come during President Biden’s visit to Philadelphia tomorrow. The $7 billion grants are part of the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. 

In response, Food & Water Watch Pennsylvania Director Megan McDonough released the following statement:

“The Biden administration is backing a multi-billion-dollar scam that attempts to rebrand fracked gas as clean energy. These hydrogen hubs will increase pollution of our region’s air and water, and drive up demand for dirty fracked gas.

“Shockingly, the communities that will be most directly impacted are still being left in the dark about what exactly the developers are proposing. There has been almost no meaningful community outreach, which was supposed to be one of the requirements to receive federal funding. It’s the same old routine as we’ve heard from fracking companies time and time again – empty promises of a jobs bonanza and economic revitalization. 

“Much of the supposed appeal of these hydrogen hubs rests on carbon capture – an expensive and failed technology that promises to reduce some of the climate pollution from fossil fuels. Dirty energy companies are strongly backing projects like ARCH2 and MACH2 for a simple reason: These schemes are not about shifting away from fossil fuels at all – they actually strengthen their stranglehold over our energy systems for decades to come.

“Study after study shows the harms of fracking, especially for those who live near wells and other infrastructure. The Shapiro administration should be reining in the power of these corporations that are harming frontline communities, fouling our air, contaminating our water, and putting us at unmitigated risk with dangerous pipelines. These hydrogen hubs are not a new frontier in clean energy – it’s the same old dirty status quo, and Pennsylvanians are sick of sacrificing the health and safety of our families and communities.”