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A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THAT THE NEW MEXICO HYDROGEN BUSINESS COUNCIL

CONVENE A SPECIAL COMMITTEE TO DEVELOP AND RECOMMEND A STATE-

OPERATED HYDROGEN ENERGY LIABILITY INSURANCE PROGRAM TO EASE

ECONOMIC BARRIERS TO HYDROGEN BUSINESSES IN NEW MEXICO.

WHEREAS, there is an urgent need to move the United

States' energy economy away from petroleum-based systems and

other limited resources of foreign fossil fuels for reasons of

national security; and

WHEREAS, continued use of fossil fuels adversely affects

the environment in two key ways: increased pollutants and the

production of greenhouse gases; and

WHEREAS, the nation's future energy source mix should

increasingly rely on clean, sustainable and renewable sources;

and

WHEREAS, extracted hydrogen will become an important

element of the nation's energy portfolio, because it can be

obtained from domestic sources and its use emits only water

vapor; and

WHEREAS, federal laboratories in the state of New Mexico

have, for nearly thirty years, participated in the evolution

of technologies that allow for the use of hydrogen for energy

purposes, making the state a technology leader; and

WHEREAS, the governor has proclaimed New Mexico the

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"Clean Energy State" and desires the state to become a leader

in hydrogen energy; and

WHEREAS, the deployment of hydrogen-energy-based systems

and businesses has been recognized as an important component

of the state's economic development strategy; and

WHEREAS, a major impediment to more rapid implementation

of hydrogen-based systems is the absence of liability and

property insurance for hydrogen energy installations; and

WHEREAS, the unwillingness of insurers to underwrite

hydrogen systems, despite many significant and distinguished

studies indicating their safety, exists because very few

installations and very little data on their performance exist;

and

WHEREAS, should first-tier indemnification be provided

to a significant degree, insurers are likely to provide

second-tier insurance; and

WHEREAS, the state of New Mexico has the opportunity to

take the lead nationally, in remedying this situation by

providing liability insurance to qualified hydrogen energy

installations, thereby accelerating the introduction of this

important energy source;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF

REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that, during the

2006 legislative interim, the New Mexico hydrogen business

council be requested to convene a committee with appropriate

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representation from state government and business interests to

include the hydrogen technology partnership to develop draft

legislation for the 2007 legislative session that creates a

state-operated liability insurance program for certified

hydrogen energy projects; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be

transmitted to the secretary of economic development and the

governor.