About the Renewable Hydrogen Alliance
Our mission
Our mission
We advocate for harnessing renewable electricity to produce climate-neutral fuels. The Renewable Hydrogen Alliance’s mission is to promote using renewable energy to produce hydrogen and other climate neutral fuels to replace fossil fuel consumption.
The opportunity
The opportunity
As more and more renewable energy sources like wind, solar, tidal and geothermal power are used to produce electricity in the Northwest region, operating the electricity system becomes more challenging. This is because renewable energy is unpredictable and isn’t always available when you need it, or, there is more renewable energy available than needed (like lots of wind in the middle of the night when most people are asleep and not using a lot of electricity). This valuable, zero carbon power essentially gets wasted and as we add more low-cost renewable energy to the power grid, there will be more “wasted” or curtailed power. The effects are already being felt in Europe where “electrolyzer” technologies are already soaking up the surplus renewable energy to produce hydrogen and other non-fossil fuels. Economies of scale realized from these deployments are causing electrolyzer costs to fall precipitously. As the availability of low-value surplus energy goes up and electrolyzer costs go down, using electricity to extract hydrogen will become cost competitive with fossil-based hydrogen.
The solution
In order to use this excess renewable energy more efficiently and maintain its economic value, it can be used to extract hydrogen (and oxygen) from water in a relatively simple process called electrolysis, a technology that was discovered over 200 years ago.
Become a member of
the Renewable Hydrogen Alliance
The legislative victory that set the NW on its path to a renewable hydrogen economy. WA Governor Inslee signing SB 5588 authorizing public utility districts to manufacture and sell renewable hydrogen. Founder and former RHA Executive Director Ken Dragoon looking on at right in front row, April 17, 2019.
Our team
RHA is a non-profit, 501(c)(6) policy advocacy trade association with an ambitious scope that relies on members’ continued support. RHA leadership works closely with our volunteer Board of Directors to guide and facilitate the organization’s growth and sustainability.
Michelle Detwiler
Executive
Director
Michelle Detwiler
Executive Director
Michelle Detwiler has worked in diverse areas of the energy sector for over 20 years. After obtaining her Master of Public Administration degree at George Washington University, she started her career at the World Bank in Washington, DC. She worked on infrastructure projects sited in China, North Africa and Iran and is where she first realized her interest in energy. After moving to Portland, Oregon, she worked for the Ater Wynne law firm in their energy practice as a paraprofessional representing municipal and cooperative utilities all across Alaska. In 2007, she joined JELD-WEN and became the Director of government affairs working on federal energy efficiency policy in the building products sector. She rounded out her energy sector experience most recently as a government affairs specialist managing the Washington and California state legislative portfolios at PacifiCorp, a Portland, Oregon based multistate electric utility subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Energy. Her consulting firm, Barlow Strategies, is a founding member of RHA.
Martina Steinkusz
Director of Market Development
Martina Steinkusz
Director of Market Development
Martina joined RHA in 2019 as Director of Market Development. She acted as an Interim Executive Director between January and March 2021. Before moving to Portland, OR, she was the Project and Communication Manager at the European Small Hydropower Association in Brussels, Belgium. She led the industry’s communication and outreach activities and managed several EU co-funded projects touching upon hydropower policy and the implementation of small hydropower cooperatives across several EU countries.
Martina holds a German-British double-degree in business and received a Masters in Urban Studies from the University of Vienna, Austria, with a focus on urban energy and the development of smart grids.
Board of directors
Don Ruff
President
Don Ruff
President
Don managed a 30-year structural engineering career with BPA whose distraction from designing transmission lines included joining with Ken Dragoon as co-directors of BPA’s after-school hands-on science program and summer science day camp— a program that at its height served some 150 classrooms in mostly lower-income schools around the Northwest and still exists on the Umatilla Indian Reservation. Don also started two child care centers and two bilingual summer day camps (one Spanish/English, one Japanese/English).
Don presently advises EPRI and IEEE on engineering matters as Ruff Consulting and continues to serve the global community as President of Oregon Partners of the Americas— when he is not or trotting off to some third world country to help with a solar or hydropower construction project for Green Empowerment.
Jason Busch
Secretary/Treasurer
Jason Busch
Secretary/Treasurer
Jason Busch is Executive Director of the Pacific Ocean Energy Trust (POET), an organization that supports the responsible development of marine energy on the West Coast. Mr. Busch is also a co-chair of the Marine Energy Council, the national trade group for the marine hydrokinetic energy sector.
Mr. Busch is actively involved in both business and community organizations. He is on the Energy Trust of Oregon’s Renewable Energy Advisory Committee, Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development Territorial Sea Plan Rulemaking Project Committee, the Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Center Advisory Council, and the Department of State Lands Rulemaking Advisory Committee. He has multiple publications, including most recently a chapter in Climate Change Impacts on Ocean and Coastal Law, published by Oxford University Press.
Prior to joining Oregon Wave Energy Trust, Mr. Busch was Principal at Sustainable Legal Solutions LLC, where he provided legal services specializing in renewable energy company start-ups and project development. Previously, he was an attorney for Ater Wynne and Stoel Rives in Portland, Oregon.
Mr. Busch holds a B.A. in Political Science from Texas A&M University and a M.A. in Philosophy from the University of Southern Mississippi. He received a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree in 2006 from the University of Oregon School of Law, graduating with honors and admitted to the Order of the Coif.
Ken Dragoon
Board Member
Ken Dragoon
Board Member
Ken founded the Renewable Hydrogen Alliance in 2018 and served as its Executive Director until January 2021 when he became Director of Hydrogen Development for Obsidian Renewables. He is a three-plus decade veteran of the electric power industry in the Pacific Northwest, focused almost entirely on providing reliable power service with variable renewable resources. He authored “Valuing Wind Generation on Integrated Power Systems,” a book on calculating wind integration costs in 2010.
Neil Hartman
Board Member
Neil Hartman
Board Member
Neil Hartman is the Government Affairs Director for the Washington State Association of UA Plumbers, Pipefitters and HVAC/R Service Technicians, a statewide labor organization representing over 9,500 women and men working in the construction industry. He carries a degree from Washington’s Evergreen State College in social and economic justice and has worked in construction labor policy since 2005.
Mr. Hartman has advocated for many years on hydrogen and clean energy issues at the local, state, and federal levels and believes that Washington and Oregon can achieve more prosperous and equitable economies, and cleaner environmental conditions with thoughtful investments in renewable hydrogen. He serves on the board of the Washington Green Hydrogen Alliance and works closely with the Washington legislature’s bi-partisan Hydrogen Caucus on policies to promote hydrogen production and use in the Pacific Northwest.
Evan Ramsey
Board Member
Evan Ramsey
Board Member
Evan is the Sr. Director of the Renewables Program and has been with BEF since 2014 and leads the organization’s work on renewable energy, demand response, energy efficiency, and electrification. He brings deep renewable energy experience and has consulted with hundreds of communities, businesses, governments, and utilities to provide technical, financial, development, and management expertise on projects across the country.
His work at BEF includes pioneering the region’s first low-income benefitting community solar project, supporting dozens of low-impact hydro projects, engaging on multiple levels of energy policy, supporting the founding of the Renewable Hydrogen Alliance, commissioning cost/benefit studies on vehicle electrification, delivering the first hydrogen fueling station in the Pacific Northwest, and leveraging over $30m in funding to support such projects.
La Stanja Baker
Board Member
La Stanja Baker
Board Member
La Stanja Baker is Regional Director of Government Affairs at Toyota and is responsible for representing Toyota before state legislatures, government agencies, political associations, industry trade groups, and other organizations in the Western United States. La Stanja has been with Toyota for 31 years and has held various positions around the organization. In her current role, La Stanja works with her internal clients to develop Toyota’s public policy positions and political strategy to reduce costs and legislative / regulatory impacts on business plans and operations. Additionally, La Stanja manages Toyota’s contract lobbyists in the west, providing leadership in enhancing Toyota’s visibility, recognition, and relationships in State Capitals. She is often relied upon to create and implement best-in-class strategies / programs. La Stanja sits on the Boards of the California International Relations Foundation, 24th Street Theater, and FORTH.
Lisa Rennie
Board Member
Lisa Rennie
Board Member
Lisa Rennie is Senior Advisor, Policy & Regulatory Affairs, at Tacoma Power, where she is an active participant in the utility’s work to support the development of a Green Hydrogen economy in the Northwest. Lisa has over 25 years of experience in government relations and energy policy at the Washington state, Northwest regional, and federal levels. She holds a BS in Biological Sciences and an MA in Public/Nonprofit Administration.
Our committees
We have several committees where members can share and increase their knowledge in areas of interest, meet and connect with other industry leaders, inform and direct RHA’s advocacy efforts, and increase and effectively demonstrate the value of membership to employers and to share knowledge.
The RHA Technical Committee explores engineering and technological opportunities and challenges relating to producing, storing, transporting, and utilizing climate-neutral fuels to replace fossil fuel use. Topics covered include hydrogen blending, pipeline materials and R&D, electrolyzer technology, compression technology, and fuel cell advancements.
The RHA Policy Committee explores policy and regulatory challenges and changes needed related to advancing and growing the renewable hydrogen economy. Its Washington and Oregon subcommittees establish and pursue RHA’s legislative agendas in those legislatures with member input. RHA has established six policy principles that guide our engagement in policy and regulatory activities on behalf of our members:
- Create And Incentivize A Robust Hydrogen Market
- Integrate Equity Across Projects, Programs and Policy
- Develop And Expand Workforce and Economic Development Efforts To Support The Clean Energy Transition
- Reduce Climate Pollution From Multiple Sectors to Net Zero or Net Negative Carbon Emissions
- Advance Clean Transportation
- Prioritize Safety
The RHA Commercial Development Committee explores opportunities, contractual issues and business practices that are necessary for wide-scale deployment of renewable hydrogen production, distribution and end-use. Topics covered include offshore wind and hydrogen development, electrolyzer installations, hydrogen production and fueling station projects, and fuel cell vehicle deployments.
Committee members
Abraham Mooney
Technical
Committee Chair
Abraham Mooney
Technical Committee Chair
Chad Stokes
Policy
Committee Chair
Chad Stokes
Policy Committee Chair
Chad Stokes is a partner at Cable Huston LLP where he represents clients on energy, administrative law, and public utility matters. Chad has significant experience in both electric and natural gas matters and represents clients including project developers, consumer-owned utilities and end-use customers on commercial transactions, contract negotiations, rate proceedings, compliance issues, permitting, regional power and transmission issues, retail rate and service issues, administrative litigation, and other regulatory matters. Chad also has experience in the financing, development, and sale of renewable generation facilities, utility infrastructure siting and permitting, and wholesale power, interconnection and transmission agreements. Chad holds a J.D. from Lewis and Clark Law School and a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies from University of California, Santa Barbara.
Elizabeth Crouse
Oregon Policy
Subcommittee Chair
Elizabeth Crouse
Oregon Policy Subcommittee Chair
Elizabeth Crouse provides business-focused solutions for U.S. federal, state, and international tax problems in a variety of transactions and investment structures. She has particular experience assisting multinational businesses and investor, developer, and operator clients in the renewable energy and carbon capture industries, including storage and secondary market acquisitions of renewables facilities by taxable and tax-exempt organizations. Elizabeth has significant experience navigating the challenges and opportunities of the U.S. federal and state renewable energy and carbon capture tax incentive programs (including the investment tax credit, production tax credit, and 45Q credit), Opportunity Zones incentive, post-TEFRA partnership audit rules, and compliance with the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and the Common Reporting Standard (CRS).
Elizabeth has been recognized as a “Rising Star” by Super Lawyers magazine and is the practice group coordinator of the global Power practice and the co-director of the Seattle chapter of Women of Renewable Industries and Sustainable Energy.
Eli Font
Washington Policy
Subcommittee Chair
Eli Font
Washington Policy Subcommittee Chair
Eli is a Senior Associate at Cadeo Group where she leads a number of research projects in deep decarbonization of buildings, transportation and the power sector. Eli has worked for international organizations, the private sector, NGOs and academia, in topics ranging from commercial solar development in NY to power system market structure analysis in Panama to national energy security modeling in Tbilisi, Georgia.
Prior to joining Cadeo, Eli worked for United Nations Environment Program supporting the governments from Latin America and the Caribbean to develop and implement clean energy initiatives and projects to accelerate their energy transition.
Elizabeth holds a B.S. in Chemistry, a Master’s in Environmental Science, and a graduate degree in Economics from Universidad de la República, Uruguay, as well as a Master’s degree in Public Administration from Columbia University.
Natalie Reid
Oregon Policy Subcommittee Vice-Chair
Natalie Reid
Oregon Policy Subcommittee Vice-Chair
Natalie is an environmental and energy attorney at K&L Gates LLP. Her practice focuses on advising clients on regulatory matters affecting the acquisition and operation of renewable energy facilities. Her practice also includes advising clients on water rights and land use issues. Natalie holds a J.D. from Seattle University School of Law and Bachelor of Arts degrees in Philosophy and Political Science from the University of Washington.
Chris Crowley
Commercial Development
Committee Chair
Chad Stokes
Policy Committee Chair
Chris is a longtime developer of renewable energy projects who transitioned to focus on renewable hydrogen after his friend Ken Dragoon began preaching its benefits over lunch in 2018. Prior to working in the green hydrogen space, Chris launched Columbia Energy Partners (CEP) in 1999 to develop wind projects in the Pacific Northwest. He partnered with The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation on a 100MW project in Arlington, Oregon, which the team sold to Horizon Wind Energy in 2006. He expanded CEP in 2007 to develop a large portfolio of wind, solar and other projects. Before forming CEP, Chris was part of the team that developed the 18,000-seat amphitheater on the Clark County (WA) Fairgrounds, a commercial building in Seattle and a music-themed web business. Chris is a graduate of Cornell University. He is from Boston but has called Washington State home since 1991. He and his wife Martha have two grown children, two horses and two dogs who keep them trekking in the forests, deserts and beaches around WA and OR.