Hydrogen power plant project to undergo yearlong study
A hydrogen power plant proposed to be built seven miles west of Bakersfield took a step forward Wednesday as the state Energy Commission voted 4-0 to undertake a yearlong study of the $2 billion project.
The commission found Long Beach-based Hydrogen Energy California’s application for a 250-megawatt plant to be adequate.
Wednesday’s vote means the commission will now consider whether the project meets the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act, which takes into account factors including environmental impacts and public health and safety.
The 473-acre project would convert coal or petroleum coke into hydrogen for fuel, and pump about 90 percent of the carbon dioxide byproduct underground for use in oil wells. The gas would then be stored permanently in underground formations.
HECA, as the company and the project are known, has not yet made a decision whether to proceed with the project. It has been awarded $308 million in federal stimulus money by the U.S. Department of Energy; that money is to be doled out as the project reaches certain milestones.
HECA would begin construction in 2011 if it gets green lights from the commission and the company itself. It would begin operating at full scale by 2014.
