Phoenix-based Proteum Energy will invest $120 million to build a clean hydrogen plant in Central California near the town of Pixley. Tulare County is processing an application to build on a 104 acre site at the southwest corner of Road 120 and Avenue 120, just west of Highway 99.
The facility will be called Golden State Hydrogen with a capacity to produce up to 35 metric tons of fuel grade hydrogen per day, which will then be liquefied, stored and delivered under a joint development agreement. That is with a second firm who will store up to 150 metric tons of liquid hydrogen and ship 12+ truckloads of liquid hydrogen per day.
The mid-state location was selected in part because it is across the street from Calgren Renewable Fuels who produce ethanol on site that will be used to make liquid hydrogen.
The new Proteum site will also have room for a 23MW solar farm and battery storage. Helping to move the project forward is the fact that the location is already zoned M1, allowing the company to simply apply for building permits with all approvals in place.They do need Air Board approval . The county published a Notice of Exemption (NOE) posted Jan 31.
The notice says” The project will include a 104-acre, 23-megawatt peak solar array with a 20 megawatt per hour storage that will supplement 20MW of power generated on site. The facility would generate 30 metric tons per day of low/negative carbon intensity fuel cell grade renewable clean and green hydrogen for transportation. Clean hydrogen will be liquefied on site, stored, and trucked to refueling stations and fleets throughout California. The hydrogen plant will also produce at least 1,800 MMBtu/day of renewable natural gas, which will be delivered to a Southern California Gas natural gas distribution line near the site.”
The site is also the confluence of numerous ag and energy related companies, including California Dairies processing plant, Calgren RenewableFuels, and the JD Heiskell feed mill. It is also a transfer point for renewable fuels to be injected into the Southern California Gas lines distribution system. A number of nearby dairies supply methane rich biogas that is converted into renewable fuel for trucks to take the place of diesel that is favored to reduce California’s carbon footprint.
This existing cluster of ag and energy companies attracted Proteum Energy to the site along with the fact Highway 99 has both rail,highway and distribution lines to connect up and down the state.The town of Pixley “town plan” calls for industrial zoning that dates from a county decision in 2014.
A memorandum posted online says Proteum will purchase 150 acres of land for $6.5 million. According to the memo, escrow closed on the property a few months ago.
“The benefit of Tulare County’s support and enthusiasm for Golden State Hydrogen cannot be overstated. Receiving prompt project approval and an NOE will take months, if not years, off our planning” says the company president Larry Tree.
In December the University of California posted this news release, announcing federal funds were on their way to California to boost the construction of infrastructure for this new clean burning fuel.
The sectors where hydrogen power could make the biggest difference — like trucking, shipping and aviation — are still dominated by fossil fuels.
The UC posting says “You might remember from chemistry class that hydrogen is the lightest and most abundant element in the universe. You might not have learned that it’s also a powerful way to deliver clean, carbon-free energy. When it’s fed into a device called a fuel cell, hydrogen generates electricity and emits only heat and harmless water vapor.
Energy experts say hydrogen has great potential to cut global carbon emissions and keep toxic pollutants out of our air and water. And yet the technology hasn’t completely caught on in California, even as the state leads the way in other climate-friendly tech like electric vehicles. A few transit agencies run fuel cell buses, and you might be able to spot the occasional hydrogen-powered car on the highway. But the sectors where hydrogen power could make the biggest difference — like trucking, shipping and aviation — are still dominated by fossil fuels.
As the State strives to meet its goal of eliminating greenhouse gas emissions by 2045, hydrogen’s fortunes might be starting to change. In October, the federal Department of Energy chose California as one of seven hydrogen hubs, regions where the agency will fund coordinated networks of hydrogen fuel producers, purveyors and consumers. A University of California-backed consortium called the Alliance for Renewable Clean Hydrogen Energy Systems, or ARCHES, managed the state’s application to DOE, and will steer up to $1.2 billion in federal funding toward 39 hydrogen infrastructure projects up and down the state.
Altogether, ARCHES projects are estimated to eliminate 2 million metric tons of carbon emissions every year, equivalent to taking 445,000 gas-powered cars off the road. They’ll create over 200,000 new good jobs. And by swapping diesel combustion engines spewing toxic exhaust for zero-pollution fuel cells, Californians will save nearly $3 billion in health care and related costs annually.”Also the California Energy Commission states that” Hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles are critical to the state’s go