It takes an island: Hawaii builds hydrogen infrastructure with GM

[n2doc]

September 23, 2010 | 3:00 am
Islands are often targeted for experiments, many of them social and/or scientific. Take Hawaii, which will soon be the site of an ambitious plan for the first viable hydrogen fuel cell network in the United States.

Over the summer, the Honolulu-based utility, the Gas Co., announced it had partnered with General Motors, in Detroit, to tap into Oahu’s 1,000-mile utility pipeline and supply hydrogen gas to fuel stations that could power thousands of fuel-cell vehicles.

“The idea is that you’ll never be more than 10 minutes from a filling station,” said the Gas Co.'s president, Jeff Kissel, noting that the first pilot stations are now being installed.

Hawaii's Gas Co. currently makes the hydrogen equivalent of 7,000 gasoline gallons per day, which, Kissel estimates, could power as many as 15,000 fuel-cell vehicles.

Hawaii has a surplus of hydrogen gas because it is a byproduct of the state’s natural gas production. Hawaii -- already saddled with higher prices for anything it has to import, whether it’s food or fuel -- doesn’t have any naturally occurring gas reserves, so the island makes its own.

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http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/greenspace/2010/09/hydrogen-fuel-cell-hawaii-gas.html

[hunter]

1. ??? Hawaii Synthetic Natural Gas is made from petroleum.

There's nothing wrong with SNG in the kitchen, it sure as heck beats kerosene or alcohol stoves, but using hydrogen from petroleum to fuel automobiles seems kinda Rube Goldberg.

More info here: http://www.greencarcongress.com/2010/05/tgc-20100511.html

Of course it's my perspective that "green cars" is an oxymoron anyways, so I guess developments like this shouldn't surprise me.

[Kolesar]

2. Hawaii should use geothermal heat to make electricity for battery-powered cars

They could run power lines under the sea to Oahu. I don't know if that is feasible.

[diane in sf]

3. they also have socialized medicine