The project received a $1.2 million grant on July 19, which rounds out the funding for the $2.5 million project. Groundbreaking for the hydrogen fueling station next to the Pacific Gas and Electric Service Center on Industrial Road in San Carlos was held last summer. Officials touted the new station as part of the state’s “hydrogen highway” and said it will revolutionize the future of fuel. It was supposed to open for PG&E vehicles in a year — which would be next month. Bulldozers never replaced the golden shovels and the site has sat empty for a year.

Residents looking forward to the hydrogen fueling station will have to wait another year. Construction on the project begins at the end of the year and the station will open to the public December 2007, said Walter Martone of the City/County Association of Governments.

Construction hit delays when the technology partner hired for the project failed to meet PG&E deadlines. The revised project will allow for both hydrogen and natural gas at the same location, said PG&E spokeswoman Darlene Chiu.

The project is part of a larger plan, called the “hydrogen highway,” to place hydrogen fueling stations in San Carlos, Menlo Park and the San Francisco International Airport. In addition, there will be a bio-diesel electrical generation site in Pacifica. There is already fueling stations in San Jose and San Francisco, according to C/CAG.

A fuel-cell vehicle is powered by combining oxygen and hydrogen, which produces electricity and heat.