National Grid, Town of Hempstead to develop hydrogen blend projects
Much of the equipment required to deliver zero-carbon hydrogen is already in place.
National Grid and the Town of Hempstead announced a joint project to build one of the first and largest clean hydrogen projects in the country, to decarbonise networks.
The HyGrid Project, located in Point Lookout on Long Island, US, will blend green hydrogen into the existing distribution system to heat around 800 homes and fuel ten municipal vehicles.
National Grid will expand the existing hydrogen facility developed in 2009 by the town and the company to provide locally produced green hydrogen for vehicles. The Town of Hempstead and National Grid will now expand the project to blend hydrogen for heating homes and transportation at the same time. Green hydrogen will be injected into the National Grid distribution system as a clean energy source for customers adjacent to the facility.
The Town of Hempstead has existing wind and solar equipment at the site to generate hydrogen fuel for its vehicles, and National Grid has an adjacent facility that provides energy for the Point Lookout neighbourhood. These facilities will be combined, and National Grid will install new equipment that will increase the hydrogen production capacity in the town.
New York State Energy and Research Development Authority (Nyserda) and the Advanced Energy and Research Technology Center at Stony Brook University will assess the compatibility of hydrogen blending in National Grid’s existing gas infrastructure. National Grid is also part of the HyBlend, a collaborative research project managed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
Rudy Wynter, President of National Grid New York, “This will be the largest green hydrogen blending project for direct use by utility customers in the Northeast and one of the first in the country.”
Don Clavin, Hempstead Town Supervisor, added, “The Town of Hempstead continues to be a clean energy leader amongst municipalities, as we have demonstrated the use of wind, solar and green hydrogen, among an array of projects, at our Point Lookout Energy Park.”
