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• Located about 7 miles west of Bakersfield, near the western Kern County town of Tupman. • An integrated gasification combined cycle power plant that plans to manufacture hydrogen to generate 300 megawatts of electricity and to produce low-carbon nitrogenbased products, such as fertilizer. • A gasification technology would be used to convert coal and petroleum coke to produce hydrogen. The hydrogenrich syngas fuel would be used to generate electricity and produce urea in liquid and pellet form, and other products for agricultural and manufacturing uses. • The proposed plant would capture about 90 percent of the carbon dioxide produced from the gasification process and transport it for use at the adjacent Elk Hills oil field for enhanced oil recovery and sequestration.
Proposed Hydrogen Energy California project
for dealing with a hazardous emergency at the proposed N PG&E Midway plant. Vi Substation sta ni aA 33 Nancy L. Ewert, senior W qu 58 edu ct engineering manager of Kern’s St Buttonwillow ora 5 ge 58 Waste Management DepartDi st STOCKDALE HWY ric t ment, said HECA would ADOHR RD 43 produce 857 tons of waste per Tule Elk Proposed Reserve day -- double the amount now State Park project site er Riv n created in the county’s entire Tupman er Elk Hills Oil Field unincorporated area. CO2 injection Meanwhile, she said, PG&E/ location Detail So Cal Gas Bakersfield California regulators are presarea 119 2 MILES suring the county to reduce the Kern County amount of waste Kern already THE CALIFORNIAN Source: Hydrogen Energy California (HECA) diverts to landfills. Meeting the state’s goal with HECA up and operating, she said, would Supervisor David Couch and County Planning be “physically and mathematiDirector Lorelei Oviatt said there have not been cally impossible to do.” enough measures incorporated into the plan A similar version of this update article by that would lessen the project’s potential negative staff writer John Cox appeared in The Bakersimpacts. Among these would be contingencies field Californian. Brackish Water Source
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Source: Excerpted from information provided by Hydrogen Energy California (HECA) and the California Energy Commission.
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Hydrogen Energy California clean coal project proposed for construction near Tupman is expected to create jobs, boost tax revenue and provide a test of carbon-burying technology that would help local oil production. But first the project must obtain state approval and secure millions of dollars in federal Energy Department start-up help. The proposal has been delayed by economics and by years-long opposition from nearby property owners, as well as concerns from county officials over potential impacts on air quality, the dangers of stored chemicals and the volume of waste expected to be generated at the plant. With the California Energy Commission serving as the lead agency, federal, state and county officials are reviewing plans for the $4 billion Hydrogen Energy California plant, which will produce chemicals and power. The proponent, Massachusetts-based SCS Energy LLC, is responding to agencies’ questions and concerns as the proposal makes its way through the permitting process. Documents, including CEC staff reports, company updates and correspondence can be found at www.energy. ca.gov. Click on “Power Plants,” where an alphabetical listing of pending projects can be found. HECA, as the project is known, would turn coal and petroleum coke into fertilizer and, during times of peak demand, electricity for sale to the state’s power grid. Some 90 percent of the carbon dioxide generated is proposed to be buried in nearby oil fields, helping oil production, since it would make the petroleum less viscous. The federal government has pledged $408 million in subsidies to an approved project, largely because it represents a novel and relatively clean use of the nation’s coal. The economic benefits would be substantial: more than 2,400 construction jobs, some 200 permanent jobs and an estimated $52 million a year in annual labor income from direct, indirect and induced employment. But as the project moves through the approval process, environmentalists have raised concerns about its impacts on public health and safety. They worry that its emissions would worsen the region’s already poor air quality. Opponents also question the safety of storing anhydrous ammonia at the site, contending a chemical mishap might endanger nearby residents. Project supporters, which include the Kern Economic Development Corp., note the positive impact HECA will have on the region’s economy, including the creation of jobs. Richard Chapman, president and CEO of the Kern Economic Development Corp., noted that his agency’s mission is to support enterprises that attract capital investment to the county, create jobs and increase tax revenue -- and the HECA project “hits it out of the ballpark in all three metrics.” But at a public hearing last fall, Kern County
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• With the California Energy Commission serving as the lead agency, federal, state and county regulators are reviewing the proposal and requesting additional information from the company to address concerns about potential impacts on air quality, emergency response, and waste generation.
HECA power plant proposal draws praise, criticism
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• The Hydrogen Energy California Project (HECA) originally was proposed in 2008 by Hydrogen Energy International LLC. In 2011, SCS Energy California LLC acquired 100 percent ownership of HECA, redesigned some aspects of the project and submitted an amended application for certification in May 2012.
June / July 2014
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HECA ata-glance
KERN BUSINESS JOURNAL