The California Energy Commission has scheduled a July 12 site tour and information hearing for the HECA hydrogen power and fertilizer plant near Bakersfield. Reservations for the 5 p.m. site tour are due by July 6 and may be made by contacting the commission’s public affairs office: 916-654-4489 or 800-822-6228, or by email: publicadviser@energy.ca.gov.
The session will serve as a scoping meeting for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Environmental Policy Act’s review of the $4 billion, 453-acre project.
According to the the project website, the key goals are to generate low-carbon hydrogen power and fertilizer to meet California’s increasing demands while capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) and storing it permanently in nearby oil fields.
In doing this, the project will create jobs, supply needed power, address climate change concerns, enhance US energy security, and boost domestic oil production.
The project is a response to the leadership shown by California in tackling the issue of climate change and in taking steps towards a hydrogen based economy.
The expected multi-billion-dollar power project, which will create more than 2,000 construction jobs over three years, will generate 300 megawatts of low-carbon electricity and enough power to support 160,000 homes. It will recapture at least 90 percent of its carbon emissions, demonstrating how groundbreaking environmental progress goes hand-in-hand with job-creation and economic growth.
When completed, the 400MW Hydrogen Energy California project (HECA) will produce low-carbon electricity to help meet the growing demand in Southern California and contribute to meeting California’s increasing power demand while minimizing greenhouse gas emissions.
The project will also produce approximately 1.3 million tons of locally manufactured, 90% carbon-free fertilizer per year, enhancing the local agricultural economy and reducing foreign imports of a critical farming supply.
At the heart of the project is a gasification unit and carbon capture facility where a blend of California produced petroleum coke (a waste product currently exported) and western coal is transformed into hydrogen and CO2. This process is designed to capture approximately 90% of the CO2 from the fuel source and transport it by pipeline for enhanced oil recovery in local oil fields for permanent and secure storage in deep geological formations.
Hydrogen Energy California is being development by SCS Energy, one of the nation’s leading independent developers of clean power.