Grant PUD and Obsidian Renewables to collaborate on developing hydrogen plant
Grant County Public Utility District (Grant PUD) and Obsidian Renewables will collaborate to design a potential power plant fueled by renewable hydrogen.
The project includes a renewable hydrogen production and storage facility to fuel the power plant and help meet Grant County’s growing demand for power.
The hydrogen would be produced by a solar power plant connected to an electrolyzer that will split water into hydrogen and oxygen. The proposed power plant design will use an onsite storage pipeline to hold enough hydrogen so that the plant can operate for up to one week on the stored renewable energy.
“We’re excited to pursue this promising technology with Obsidian and for its potential to provide needed power generation resources for our customers, while also meeting Washington’s clean energy goals,” Rich Wallen said.
Grant County has several industrial hydrogen users, including developers of experimental hydrogen-powered aircraft and rocket engines. Surplus renewable electricity generated by the project will potentially create affordable renewable hydrogen for these users. “This project kicks off the development of Obsidian’s Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Hub plan to make low-cost renewable hydrogen available to large parts of Oregon and Washington,” Ken Dragoon said. “Renewable hydrogen will play an important role in the region’s decarbonization goals, and we are proud to take this step towards a green energy future.”
The Obsidian Pacific NW Hydrogen Hub is one of the 33 projects around the nation encouraged to seek funding from the United States Department of Energy (DOE). Obsidian will submit a complete funding application in April, which includes funding for the Grant PUD project.
The DOE plans to select six to 10 hydrogen hubs to receive between $400 million and $1.25 billion to connect large-scale clean hydrogen production to consumers. Applications will be evaluated based on several critical factors, including technical merit, financial viability and community benefits. DOE is expected to make final funding awards in the Fall of 2023.
