The L.A. City Council unanimously voted to move ahead with a plan to convert its largest power plant, Scattergood Generating Station in El Segundo, to transition away from burning fossil fuels to generate electricity. The idea is for the plant to ultimately burn 100% green hydrogen instead. The plan is expected to cost at least $800 million.
City officials say “green” hydrogen is a needed part of the puzzle to piece together L.A.’s goal of getting 100% of its electricity from clean energy sources, such as wind and solar, by 2035.
The city’s wind and solar projects still lack sufficient batteries to store that power when the wind isn’t blowing or when the sun goes down, so officials argue green hydrogen will help avoid power outages, especially during hot summer nights, which are getting more extreme with global heating.
What Is “Green” Hydrogen?
OK, let’s do some science.
Hydrogen is a colorless gas that is considered “clean” because it doesn’t involve carbon, which — when burned to create energy — becomes carbon dioxide, a major planet-heating gas.
But it takes energy to produce hydrogen. “Green” hydrogen is created by using clean energy sources like solar and wind to split water, or H20, into oxygen and hydrogen.
So burning just green hydrogen to create electricity — instead of methane gas, a carbon-based fossil fuel, as our power plants currently do — helps to eliminate planet-heating methane and carbon pollution.
So, This Is All Great, Right?
Well … it’s not that simple. The project won’t start at burning 100% green hydrogen, but rather incorporate a phase-up from a blend of methane gas and green…
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