Harrell’s Hydrogen Dreams Evaporating

S.C. House Speaker Bobby Harrell has staked his political reputation – and hundreds of millions of S.C. taxpayer dollars – on hydrogen fuel cell research.

Along with Columbia Mayor Bob Coble and University of South Carolina President Harris Pastides, Harrell has been the prime pusher of this so-called “knowledge-based economy of the future,” an “economic engine” that was supposed to bring thousands of jobs and millions of dollars in capital investment to our state.

In fact, as recently as five weeks ago Harrell boasted that “in the race to develop hydrogen into our nation’s next viable energy source, South Carolina has been a leader every step of the way.”

Well yesterday, that mantle was dealt a huge blow.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) cut off funding for hydrogen fuel cell research, concluding that the technology will not be practical over the next 10 to 20 years.

Specifically, DOE has concluded that the hydrogen-powered cars and fueling stations – two of which were opened in South Carolina this year – are far too costly given their lack of utility.

They’re right.

South Carolina currently has only two hydrogen-powered vehicles – and both of them were built with government funding, one to the tune of $1.4 million.

That’s one hydrogen car per filling station.

Of course, the PR spin coming from the state’s political establishment is that most of our tax money has gone toward “stationary” fuel cell research, but is that really true?

And has any of it produced private investment or jobs for our state?

We know that $1.5 million was shelled out to build the Columbia hydrogen fueling station, and that every penny of that was allocated by S.C. leaders.

In fact, $1.2 million of the funding came directly from state or local sources.

We also know that over $140 million has also been spent on a nearly-vacant research campus that has failed to attract private investment and has instead relied almost exclusively on government funding.

At the center of the failed “Innovista” project’s efforts? Yup, hydrogen fuel cell research.

The state has also pumped tens of millions of dollars into tax credits and “endowed chairs” at its top research universities, with much of that investment going to hydrogen fuel cell projects.

A full accounting of S.C. taxpayers’ investment in “hydrogen fuel cell research” is not yet available, but critics were already beginning to question the expenditures – to say nothing of the fact that this is yet another example of government trying to pick winners and losers in the marketplace.

Just two days ago, prior to the Energy Department’s decision, S.C. Policy Council analyst Kevin Dietrich penned an oped that directly challenged Harrell, Coble and Pastides’ plans.

“Expensive hydrogen vehicles offer little appeal for consumers, particularly when the fuel isn’t available at a reasonable cost, and the private sector has so far been unwilling to invest billions of dollars in hydrogen when there is no evidence that it will ever be a viable energy source,” Dietrich wrote. “There is neither demand nor supply for the hydrogen fuel economy, and the government cannot artificially create either. Yet despite the troubled economy and clear lack of demand, the state Senate put more than $775,000 for hydrogen research at the University of South Carolina in its version of the budget.”

Remember, Speaker Harrell and Senate Finance Chairman Hugh Leatherman are the same politicians who recently told us that thousands of school teachers would have to be fired and thousands of inmates would have to be released into our neighborhoods – yet they obviously had enough to continue gambling on this technology.

Given the extent of their investment in the hydrogen pipe dream, we expect considerable push back from Harrell, Coble and Pastides as they attempt to justify their ongoing expenditures.

Specifically, expect them to reference a $12.5 million grant that USC received for hydrogen research last week.

But again, that’s taxpayer money.

Where’s the private sector investment that was supposed to come to our state as a result of all this public money being spent?

And more importantly, where are all those jobs Harrell promised?

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