One day renewable resources such as wind, solar and geothermal will generate enough electricity that it will be cost effective to produce hydrogen via electrolysis. The advantage of using renewable energy technology is that the power source (wind, sun, etc.) produces zero or small amounts of greenhouse gasses.

Renewable Energy may one day fuel the hydrogen economy Photos by DOE/NREL and GM

Another advantage or using renewable resources is that electricity generation is likely to occur in many different locations, otherwise known as distributed generation. This method of electricity generation is thought to be more reliable, less expensive to distribute and a more stable means of supplying power to customers. Currently, wind generated electricity is one of the least expensive means of generating electricity. The cost of generating electricity from wind has fallen 90 percent over the past 20 years⁽¹⁾. When electricity is available at about 3 cents/KW hour, it will become cost effective to use electrolysis to generate hydrogen from water.

According to the European Institute for Prospective Technological Studies, hydrogen production from the electrolysis of water powered by European wind energy is close the price of crude oil ⁽²⁾.