Committee advances SB 1350 to allow RPS credits for renewable hydrogen use at power plants

Senator McNerney said SB 1350 is an expedited bill aimed at capturing federal clean energy tax credits and stimulating renewable hydrogen projects. "The federal government unfortunately has canceled credits for clean energy projects and has canceled $1,200,000,000 in funding for California's proposed hydrogen hub called Arches," he told the committee, framing the urgency.

Coauthor Assemblymember Carrillo and industry witnesses described Lancaster's FPH2 public hydrogen authority and the potential for local job creation. Tim Kammer of the Green Hydrogen Coalition said renewable hydrogen can add resilience to the power sector and is not mandated by the bill: "renewable hydrogen is a carbon free fuel that can be produced in large quantities and used to ensure reliability in our power sector."

Environmental groups including Earthjustice, Sierra Club and Union of Concerned Scientists testified in respectful opposition or with requested safeguards, raising concerns about ensuring hydrogen is produced from non‑fossil feedstocks, physically delivered to turbines (not just book‑entry credits), and how combustion could affect NOx emissions. Mark Fenstermaker (Earthjustice) said the bill "could use some more safeguards" and flagged the potential for paper transactions instead of real emissions reductions.

Committee members pressed authors on hourly matching rules, minimum hydrogen share thresholds and air quality oversight. The author said multiple amendments had been taken to require hourly matching and a 20% minimum capacity threshold so that small blends do not result in claimed RPS benefits. After discussion the committee moved the bill to Natural Resources with recorded roll call votes and left the roll open for absent members.