Grant County Public Utility District (Grant PUD) and Obsidian Renewables will collaborate to design a potential power plant fueled by renewable H₂. The project includes a renewable H₂ production and storage facility to fuel the power plant and help meet Grant County’s growing demand for power.

The H₂ would be produced by a solar power plant connected to an electrolyzer that will split water into H₂ and oxygen. The proposed power plant design will use an onsite storage pipeline to hold enough H₂ so that the plant can operate for up to one week on the stored renewable energy.

“We’re excited to pursue this promising technology with Obsidian and for its potential to provide needed power generation resources for our customers, while also meeting Washington’s clean-energy goals,” Grant PUD CEO Rich Wallen said.

Grant County has several industrial H₂ users, including developers of an experimental H₂-powered aircraft and rocket engines. The surplus renewable electricity generated by the project will potentially create affordable renewable H₂ for these users.

“This project kicks off the development of Obsidian’s Pacific Northwest H₂ Hub plan to make low-cost renewable H₂ available to large parts of Oregon and Washington,” Obsidian Director of H₂ Development Ken Dragoon said. “Renewable H₂ will play an important role in the region’s decarbonization goals, and we are proud to take this step towards a green energy future.”

The Obsidian Pacific NW H₂ Hub is one of the 33 projects around the nation encouraged to seek funding from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Obsidian will submit a complete funding application in April, which includes funding for the Grant PUD project.

The DOE plans to select six to 10 H₂ hubs to receive between $400 MM and $1.25 B to connect large-scale clean H₂ production to consumers. Applications will be evaluated based on several critical factors, including technical merit, financial viability and community benefits. DOE is expected to make final funding awards in the Fall of 2023.