Community Benefits

Following successful award negotiations with DOE, benefits will include ongoing community and labor engagement for mutual knowledge sharing and the coordination of strategies and best practices focused on:

• • Community benefits education and accountability
  • Quality jobs hired locally to the greatest extent possible at all levels supported by training and development programs that are family-supportive and coordinated with local and regional Tribes, labor organizations, colleges and universities
  • Commitment to Community Benefits agreements (CBAs) and Project Labor Agreements (PLAs)
  • Engagement with K-12 schools, higher education and community organizations to learn about hydrogen safety and technology and how to be a part of the hydrogen future
  • Access to clean energy
  • Reduced emissions, especially particulate emissions associated with fossil-based transportation fuels

The PNWH2 Hub has already conducted significant community engagement work to date, including initial community outreach and numerous letters, presentations and discussions with Tribes in the region – but that’s just the beginning. The robust community benefits plan that has been developed will continue this critical work to have community input shape the hub and equitably distribute benefits.

Our hub aims to benefit communities by using successful approaches developed in the Pacific Northwest to advance equity and environmental justice, leveraging the project team’s existing relationships to achieve meaningful community and Tribal partnerships.

Consistent with the Biden-Harris Administration’s Justice40 Initiative, we will continue to engage communities to define and quantify benefits, avoid disproportionate burdens, and closely track and adjust, if necessary, to ensure that at least 40% of benefits flow to disadvantaged communities. This is consistent with policies such as the Healthy Environment for All (HEAL) Act, which requires equitable distribution of benefits in major state environmental policies in Washington.

These benefits will include new, high-quality careers and the development of education and training programs from K-12 through college to ensure a pipeline of trained and qualified workers to build, then operate and maintain these new projects.

Each project or co-located collection of projects has conducted initial outreach in their local community. Once negotiations with DOE are complete and we have final decisions on project scope, siting and funding, we will conduct significant public outreach and engagement. Communities will be deeply involved throughout the hub process and will contribute to the final determination of how benefits are distributed and tracked.

Advancing diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility in the workplace is an essential component of our Community Benefits Plan. Our project partners are committed to ensuring our collective efforts contribute to and embed DEIA throughout the workforce and contribute to the Biden-Harris Administration’s Justice40 Initiative with the goal to flow 40% of overall benefits to disadvantaged communities, as required by the U.S. Department of Energy.

The PNWH2 Hub’s projects will drive economic opportunity across all demographics, creating or supporting more than 10,000 good-paying jobs and stronger energy security to improve the lives and futures of people throughout the region.

For construction jobs, these include pipefitters, steelworkers, welders, machinists, carpenters, engineers, chemists, field technicians, mechanics, operators, and many other trades.

The PNWH2 Hub projects plan to hire locally to the greatest extent possible.

Our hub will create or support quality jobs at all levels, bolstered by training and development programs that are family-supportive and coordinated with local and regional Tribes, labor organizations, colleges and universities.

Each project has committed to having Community Workforce Agreements (CWAs) and Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) in place that include labor standards. The PLAs will be with one or more labor organizations, which is a pre-hire collective-bargaining agreement establishing the terms and conditions of employment for a specific construction project.

Our proposed projects plan to hire local union labor whenever possible.

Each project has committed to having Community Workforce Agreements (CWAs) and Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) in place that include labor standards. The PLAs will be with one or more labor organizations, which is a pre-hire collective-bargaining agreement establishing the terms and conditions of employment for a specific construction project.

These programs will vary, and more information will be shared following our award negotiations with DOE – anticipated to conclude in early 2024 – as some aspects of the planned hub’s scope and scale may be modified during negotiations with DOE.

We aim to provide employment and training to workers in the fossil fuel and related sectors, with a focus on training and transitioning to clean energy jobs that utilize similar, transferable skills.

Some examples of the programs we proposed include apprenticeships, training opportunities to help retain already experienced workers through the clean energy transition, and enable science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education program pathways to support the hydrogen workforce.

Our proposed projects will work in their local communities to help enable science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education program pathways to support the hydrogen workforce and engage with K-12 schools, higher education and community organizations to learn about hydrogen safety and technology, and how to be a part of the hydrogen future.

For example, Centralia College helps host an annual STEM Career Academy for high school students. Students attending the 2023 Academy participated in tours, career planning and hands-on activities like building hydrogen-powered model cars.