The long-delayed rules around the federal government’s Hydrogen Production Tax Credit (PTC), also known as 45V, had been the subject of heated debate — and lobbying — since passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) way back in August 2022. But after more than a year of speculation — and with the Biden administration in its last days — the final rulemaking has at last been published. In today’s RBN blog, we’ll look at how the final rulemaking compares with the initial guidelines established in December 2023, detail the key areas where the rules have been made more lenient, and explain why clean hydrogen still faces an uncertain future, while also previewing our first Drill Down report of 2025.
There was a lot of enthusiasm around hydrogen after passage of the IRA, with the initial guidance around the PTC widely expected to be announced within a year, or by August 2023. It soon became clear that extensive debates over the rulemaking continued inside the Biden administration and that informal deadline came and went without much notice. The initial guidance was finally rolled out in late December 2023, which closely followed a draft that was leaked a couple weeks earlier. Publication of the proposed rulemaking then began a 60-day comment period.
Given all the hubbub about the proposed rules, there is little surprise that current and potential hydrogen producers, clean-energy advocates, industry experts and scientific skeptics — along with everyday taxpayers — had a lot to say during the public-comment period, which ended February 26, 2024. Nearly 30,000 public comments were posted about the rule (most were from cut-and-paste templates), with about 400 submitted by corporations or organizations, an indication of how interested people are in the idea of clean hydrogen.
The IRS held a two-day public hearing about the rulemaking in March 2024, featuring comments from more than 100 witnesses, including supporters and critics of the administration’s clean-hydrogen push. But not much of substance had happened since then. Given that 2024 was a presidential election year, perhaps it’s unsurprising that the final rulemaking wasn’t published during the middle of the campaign. But the delay caused nothing but uncertainty for those planning to develop projects in the U.S. and frustrated those who see clean hydrogen’s long-term potential to help decarbonize hard-to-abate industries, like refining and steelmaking. The Biden administration’s stated goal of publishing the final rulemaking before the end of 2024 came and passed without explanation, with the final rules rolled out on January 3.
Join Backstage Pass to Read Full Article
About the song
“The Rules of the Road” was written by Cy Coleman and Carolyn Leigh and appears as the third song on side two of Nat King Cole’s 36th studio album, Let’s Face the Music! The mid-tempo number showcases Cole’s crooning vocal stylings with the laid-back and swinging orchestrations arranged by Billy May. Personnel on the record were: Nat King Cole (vocals, Hammond organ), Jimmy Rowles (piano), Kathryn Julye (harp), Vito Mangano (trumpet), Tommy Shepard, Tommy Pederson, Ed Kasby (trombone), Red Callander (tuba), Harry Klee (alto sax), Buddy Colletta, Ted Nash, Plas Johnson (tenor sax), Chuck Gentry (baritone sax), a string section including violin, viola and cello, and Billy May (arranger, conductor).
Let’s Face the Music! was originally recorded at Capitol Studios in Hollywood in November 1961 with Billy Mays as the arranger. The 12-song LP was released on Capitol Records nearly three years later in September 1964 with production credit by Lee Gillette.
Nat King Cole (Nathaniel Adams Coles) was an American singer, jazz pianist and actor. His career spanned three decades, and more than 100 of his songs made it to the pop charts. He released his first record for Decca Records in 1936 with his bassist brother, Eddie, under the name Eddie Cole’s Swingsters. The group changed their name to the King Cole Trio in 1940 and had their first hit with “Sweet Lorraine.” Cole released 40 studio albums, one live album, and 159 singles. He has sold more than 50 million records worldwide. He appeared in 43 motion pictures and several variety and music television shows. He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Songwriters Hall of Fame, Downbeat Jazz Hall of Fame and National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame, and has a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Cole died in Los Angeles in February 1965 at the age of 45.
