Hydrogen and Public Policy
Michigan
Michigan is home to the Unites States automotive
industry. The automakers have supported hydrogen
fuel cell vehicles in order to meet new demands for
cleaner cars that can reduce dependence on foreign energy sources. In the past, state policymakers have
worked with the industry to meet these goals through
aggressive policies. For example, in response to the
federal Energy Policy Act (EPACT) of 1992, Michigan
invested in the requisite percentage of alternative fuel
vehicles (AFVs) for its state fl eets along with four
ethanol-fueling stations across the state to serve them.
According to the Michigan Energy Offi\ce, by
1999 half of the state’s new fl eet vehicle purchases
were AFVs. Promoting new transportation-related
legislation in tandem with successful investments and
demonstrations helps to support the United States auto
industry’s competitiveness in the global market.
As hydrogen moves into the spotlight at
the federal level and stricter emissions regulations
are driving hydrogen use as a fuel at the state level,
Michigan is promoting research and education dealing
with alternative energy and fuel sources to help support
the state’s automotive industry and encourages new and
sustained economic development. To this end, Michigan
has started the Next Energy initiative, which provides
tax breaks and other incentives to spur new business
growth in the alternative energy sector. Embracing
hydrogen and other alternative energy sources is viewed
as a forward-thinking economic development strategy
and is strongly supported by the public sector, as well
as the automotive and other industries and several
academic institutions in Michigan.
The concept of the state’s alternative energy
plan emphasizes that new energy solutions will be
adopted over the near, middle and long-term. With the
ultimate vision of creating an operational transportation
infrastructure for hydrogen fuel, the near and middle
term visions concentrate on investments in stationary
applications, such as distributed generation units for
residential, commercial, and industrial applications.
Another part of the Next Energy initiative is the creation
of a consortium of fi ve colleges and universities that
work with the program to create an alternative energy
curriculum. Once completed, this curriculum will be
used to train the workforce necessary to develop, operate
and maintain new alternative energy technologies.
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