Hydrogen in remote communities: Opportunities and barriers for displacing diesel in British Columbia

Hydrogen has the potential to displace diesel in remote off-grid communities for electricity production in British Columbia. Through an analysis of literature, case studies, and expert interviews this study demonstrates the benefits of utilizing hydrogen, as well as the barriers that exist for its adoption. Hydrogen is a versatile fuel that produces no emissions at the point of use. Some examples of challenges hydrogen faces are the high cost of hydrogen technologies, limited access to funding for remote communities, the risk of new technology, and limited local capacity for operations and maintenance. This study concludes with several policy recommendations. First, a Hydrogen Grant Program should be implemented with funding from the federal and provincial government. After this, three other policies should be implemented in priority order: 1) Training Programs for hydrogen system maintenance, 2) Low Carbon Fuel Standard, and 3) Reduction of Regulatory Uncertainty.