Plans are in place to build a green hydrogen production plant in Pennsylvania that the developers say will be one of the first of its kind in North America.
Plug Power, a New York-based company focused on hydrogen projects, is teaming up with Quebec-based Brookfield Renewable Partners to build the plant near the 250-MW Holtwood hydroelectric plant in southern Lancaster County. The facility will be located along the Susquehanna River in South-Central Pennsylvania and powered by the hydro facility.
The company expects to break ground in the first quarter of 2022 and bring the plant online by the end of the year. Specific details of the location, the size and the cost of the plant were not disclosed.
Once in operation, the plant is projected to produce about 15 metric tons of liquid hydrogen per day. Plug Power officials said that would represent a “significant milestone” in the company’s plan to establish the first North American green hydrogen network, producing more than 500 tons of hydrogen per day by 2025 to support decarbonization efforts in transportation and logistics industries in the Northeast and the Mid-Atlantic. The plant is also expected to create more than 25 green energy jobs in Pennsylvania.
“This is another step in our quest to build the green hydrogen economy in the USA and globally,” Plug Power CEO Andrew Marsh said in a statement. “We are proud to be able to bring quality jobs and invest in the local economy in Lancaster County through this green hydrogen production facility.”
The company entered into an agreement with Brookfield Renewable in September to procure energy from Brookfield’s 100% renewable energy portfolio in the U.S. to help facilitate production of liquid hydrogen. The agreement was designed to advance Plug Power’s green hydrogen generation strategy to have more than 50% of its hydrogen supplies produced from renewables by 2024.
Talen Energy sold two of its Pennsylvania power plants, including the Holtwood plant, to Brookfield for $860 million in 2015. FERC had ordered Talen to divest the plants when it approved the company’s formation from the merger of PPL and Riverstone Holdings generation assets in 2014. (See Talen Energy to Sell 3 Pa. Generators for $1.5 Billion.) The Holtwood plant has been in operation since 1910.
“Brookfield Renewable is excited by the opportunity to support one of North America’s first industrial-scale green hydrogen production plants, drawing from our 7,300-MW portfolio of hydropower, wind, solar and storage facilities located in 34 states across the U.S.,” Mitch Davidson, CEO of Brookfield Renewable’s U.S. business, said. “This transaction is a testament to Brookfield Renewable’s uniquely diversified portfolio and commitment to sustainability and decarbonization efforts globally.”
