LINCOLN- Among several bills on final reading in the Legislature on Tuesday was Sen. Bostelman's LB565, which was advanced after a short debate. LB565 among several other things, would allocate around $500,000 over the next two years to the Nebraska Department of Economic Development, which will use the funds to provide grants through public power districts and the Nebraska Hydrogen Hib working group.

The money earmarked for this bill is meant to be utilized for engineering and modeling as Nebraska seeks one of the U.S. Department of Energy's regional clean hydrogen hubs. The bill, according to Sen. Bruce Bostelman, will also help identify workforce needs for the nuclear and hydrogen industries, and will provide educational programming and training as well. "NPPD has been a strong leader in the hydrogen hub process and in this grant application," said Bostelman during debate, "We are now one of 33 [applicants being considered]."

Monolith Materials, located at NPPD's Sheldon Station near Hallam, will lead the working group and study the needs of a potential hydrogen or nuclear workforce in the state, a workforce that could potentially aid other industries in the state. Sen. Bostelman believes the bill will also inspire young persons to stay in the state. "How do we reach out now into our high schools? How does we start connecting students at that level, to start building their interest and their skills in all these trades, but also professionally as well?" asked Sen. Bostelman.

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