California wants our hydrogen (we don't): Hydrogen could be a huge industry in Utah. But only if the state recognizes its potential.

• Author: Penrod, Emma

LOCATED IN DELTA, UTAH, the Intermountain Power Project is a coal-fired power plant commissioned decades ago to serve 35 municipal electric companies and rural cooperatives. Although the project is operated by a political subdivision of the state of Utah, and located in the state, the majority of the power generated by the IPP serves southern California, including the city of Los Angeles.

Or, it did.

Seven years ago, as California continued to advance its state-level climate and energy policies, it became apparent that the project's largest customers would be barred from purchasing coal-fired power in the near future, according to IPP spokesman John Ward. Rather than accept its eventual fate, the IPP drew up plans to decommission the existing coal-fired power plant and replace it with a gas-fired plant that would take advantage of an old, but unconventional fuel: hydrogen.

As things currently stand, the IPP is set to burn a blend of hydrogen and natural gas, starting at 30 percent hydrogen in 2025 and progressing to 100 percent over the next 20 years, as the fuel becomes more readily available.

UTAH COULD BECOME A HYDROGEN HUB

There's nothing particularly new about hydrogen itself, says Ward. What is new, is the notion that hydrogen power could play an important role in the future of power production as the world continues to move toward carbon-free electricity.

This is the reason why energy industry leaders around the world currently have their eyes turned to Utah. The IPP not only represents one of fhe first power plants to consider hydrogen as a source for fuel--it also plans to spur the production and storage of large quantities of hydrogen.

Given Utah's central location, some in the industry, such as the Green Hydrogen Coalition, have begun to envision a future where Utah sits at the center of a regional network with hydrogen pipelines branching out of it like spokes on a wheel, accelerating decarbonization efforts throughout the western US and upwards into Canada.

But the extent to which Utah becomes a true hub for hydrogen production, experts say, depends not only on whether the world accepts broader use of this traditionally niche fuel--but also on local attitudes toward hydrogen, and whether other local projects such as the Inland Port create local demand for the alternative fuel.

If that happens, industry leaders say that Utah could come out of the coming renewable energy revolution as one of the winners, where new energy technologies create new jobs and spur economic growth. If it doesn't, then Utah's energy producing-communities will likely realize the future they fear as jobs and revenue are sucked away by more proactive states.

"To the extent that a state like Utah becomes a hydrogen producer and exports to other states, that will be a net job increase," says Al Cioffi, business development manager for hydrogen fuel cell manufacturer Plug Power. "If the clean revolution passes us by, we stand to lose plenty of jobs. We ought to be in a position where we not only retain those jobs, but if we get out ahead of this thing, we can be net...