Burns & McDonnell has been hired by Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC) to provide front-end engineering for plant integration support for a developing OUC hydrogen-technology project. This includes electrical engineering, instrumentation and controls engineering, civil/ structural engineering, mechanical engineering and system design, permitting support, budgetary estimate support, and owner’s engineering services.

The project includes a hydrogen system that can produce, store and utilize gas to generate electricity, as well as hydrogen fueling stations for fleet vehicles. The system will feature an electrolyzer for hydrogen production, hydrogen compressor skids, tube trailers for hydrogen storage and dispensing, hydrogen fueling stations for fuel cell electric vehicle fueling, a 600-kW fuel cell for electricity production, a water recovery system and a 1,500-kVA transformer for power delivery.

The project could help the utility meet its 2050 goal of net-zero CO₂ emissions. Mitigating the effects of solar power intermittency is just one of the challenges the new system will provide — it will also offer insight and experience to OUC engineers on how the technology can serve as a major player in meeting future renewable goals. Compared to other hydrogen projects, this hydrogen system will likely be able to supply electricity on a scale of weeks rather than hours.

Funding for the project is empowered by a US $4 MM grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, which was part of a US $40 MM funding initiative for hydrogen projects.

Construction is expected to wrap up at the end of 2021, to be followed by a period of one or two years where OUC will review results and determine next steps and phases.