Senator Byron Dorgan, a champion of renewable energy and the leading Senate advocate for hydrogen, has decided to retire at the end of the year after three 6-year terms in the US Senate.  He also served as North Dakota’s US House member for 12 years.  He said he wants to teach, write two more books (he has published two) and “would also like to work on energy policy in the private sector.”   His full statement can be found HERE.

Dorgan has been an active supporter of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies for years.  In 2004, he included a provision in an appropriations bill to designate the Energy and Environmental Research Center (EERC) as the National Center for Hydrogen Technology (NCHT).  Dorgan also introduced the Hydrogen Fuel Cell and Technology Act of 2005, which was included in the Energy Policy Act of 2005.  EPACT 2005 authorized a comprehensive long-term federal research program for hydrogen and fuel cells and provides the basis for today’s research, development and demonstration activities.

Dorgan was a key ally in the successful restoration of DOE funding for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and we wish him well in his future endeavors.