SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — State legislators are giving a cold reception to a package of financial incentives aimed at scaling up hydrogen production using New Mexico’s vast natural gas reserves.
A state House panel voted 6-4 on Thursday to indefinitely postpone consideration of a bill that would offer grants, loans and tax breaks to a nascent hydrogen industry. Time is running short for the bill to advance during a 30-day legislative session that ends on Feb. 17.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and the oil industry are backing the initiative, as Republican support waivers. The plan came under withering criticism from leading environmentalists.