Letters

As a Suffolk County legislator, I will prioritize creating a sustainable fuel source to generate energy. What exactly does that mean?

Most of us equate the energy we use with a turn of the key on our automobile, the plug in the wall, or turning up the thermostat so our home is warm and snuggly. Most people do not give these daily tasks a second thought — and why would they? During the past century, our energy has been stable, reliable, economical, and created by various fuels. Traditionally those fuels have been wood, coal, oil, nuclear, and hydro.

During this century, as we transition to more sustainable fuel sources, such as wind and solar, which have become popular, we are tasked with ensuring that those fuel sources are stable, reliable and economical. Unfortunately, wind and solar have obvious limitations and have to be connected with expensive and environmentally unsound lithium battery resources to provide 24/7 availability.

Fortunately, there is a fuel source that is ages old. The first generation of hydrogen by electricity was done as early as 1789 by van Troostwijk and Deiman using an electrostatic generator as the direct current source.

Today, we are on the cusp of harnessing hydrogen as a fuel source. Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe, creates oxygen as a byproduct and will be a universal fuel available 24/7. Hydrogen is the answer to solving the sustainable, environmentally sound, stable, reliable, and economic problem.

Through my governmental relations company, Accabonac Strategies, I have been representing scientists who have developed a cost-effective green hydrogen creation and storage solution, before the New York State Legislature, and have developed a technology to create hydrogen cost-effectively from any water source, including seawater. These scientists also have developed a safe, economical and environmentally sound technology to store hydrogen in a metal hydrate. Best of all, these scientists have started a company called Evolve Hydrogen here on Long Island.

As your county legislator, I will bring a combined legislative environmental and technical depth of experience that is pragmatic and not clouded by ideology. I will work tirelessly to ensure we have safe, economical, sustainable fuel sources to create jobs and empower our local economy.

Manuel Vilar

Springs

Vilar is a candidate for the Suffolk County Legislature on the Republican line — Ed.