1.
This Act may be cited as the
Renewable Hydrogen Passenger Vehicle
Act of 2005
.
2.
Renewable hydrogen transportation demonstration
program
(a)
Congress finds that—
(1)
reductions in local air
pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, and oil imports resulting from the
introduction of vehicles with gasoline-powered internal combustion hybrid
electric engines will be only temporary, as improved fuel economy of the hybrid
vehicles is offset by increases in vehicle miles traveled;
(2)
direct substitution of
farm-based renewable fuels for gasoline in gasoline-powered internal combustion
hybrid electric engines will result in further reductions in local air
pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, and oil imports;
(3)
for permanent reductions in
criteria pollutants, greenhouse gas emissions, and oil imports, Congress should
establish as a national goal the development of renewable hydrogen as a clean
effective energy carrier;
(4)
the development of vehicles
powered by hydrogen derived from domestic renewable resources such as ethanol,
energy crops, agricultural waste, landfill gas, municipal solid waste, wind
power, and solar electricity, will—
(A)
substantially and permanently
reduce local air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions;
(B)
improve the energy security
of the United States; and
(C)
create domestic jobs;
(5)
notwithstanding paragraph
(4), as of the date of enactment of this Act, the fuel cell technology required
to make the most efficient use of renewable hydrogen is too costly and has not
achieved the reliability necessary for consumer acceptance in the near
term;
(6)
in the near term (before
affordable and reliable fuel cell vehicles are developed), hydrogen-powered
internal combustion engine hybrid electric vehicles have been developed that
can achieve more than 90 percent of the environmental benefits and 100 percent
of the oil import reduction benefits of fuel cell vehicles;
(7)
in addition to robust
research and development for fuel cell vehicles, a program to develop and
demonstrate renewable hydrogen production and distribution technology is
justified;
(8)
reforming ethanol at a
vehicle fueling station may be the least costly method of producing renewable
hydrogen;
(9)
a low cost renewable hydrogen
vehicle demonstration program that will yield valuable information regarding an
interim transition strategy of using hydrogen-powered internal combustion
engine hybrid electric vehicles to pave the way for fuel cell vehicles once
fuel cell vehicles become affordable and reliable can be implemented in 1 year;
and
(10)
the introduction of
commercial hydrogen internal combustion engine hybrid electric vehicles can
provide the economic incentives to help stimulate development of hydrogen
fueling systems at existing gasoline fueling stations to convert ethanol to
hydrogen onsite, thereby significantly accelerating the adoption of super-clean
renewable hydrogen as an alternative to gasoline made from imported crude
oil.
(b)
Section 9007 of the Farm
Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8107) is amended by adding
at the end the following:
(c)
(1)
The Secretary of Energy, in
coordination with the Secretary, shall conduct a 3-year program to develop and
demonstrate the cost-effective operation of a fleet of at least 10 direct
hydrogen passenger vehicles based on existing commercial technology under which
the hydrogen is derived from ethanol or other domestic low-cost transportable
renewable feedstocks.
(2)
The goals of the program
shall include—
(A)
demonstrating the
cost-effective conversion of ethanol or other low-cost transportable renewable
feedstocks to pure hydrogen suitable for eventual use in proton exchange
membrane fuel cell vehicles at 1 or more local fueling stations, including
hydrogen compression and storage necessary to fill vehicle tanks to their
operational pressure, using existing commercial reforming technology or modest
modifications of existing technology to reform ethanol or other low-cost
transportable renewable feedstocks into hydrogen;
(B)
converting 10 or more
commercially available internal combustion engine hybrid electric passenger
vehicles to operate on hydrogen;
(C)
installing and operating an
ethanol reformer or reformer of another low-cost transportable renewable
feedstock (including onsite hydrogen compression, storage, and dispensing) at
the facilities of a fleet operator not later than 1 year after commencement of
the program;
(D)
operating the 10 or more
hydrogen internal combustion engine hybrid electric vehicles for a period of 2
years; and
(E)
collecting emissions and
fuel economy data on the 10 hydrogen-powered vehicles over various operating
conditions and weather conditions.
(3)
Authorization of appropriations
There is authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this subsection $5,000,000.
.