Overview
- Officials said Los Angeles received its last coal-fired electricity from Utah’s Intermountain plant last week, with the city now at roughly 60% carbon-free power after recent additions like the Eland solar-plus-storage project.
- Intermountain’s new turbines are slated to begin supplying power on a natural gas fuel mix with up to 30% green hydrogen in January, with a stated long-term aim of running on 100% hydrogen.
- Project leaders say hydrogen production and cavern storage at the Utah site are operating, describing it as the world’s largest green hydrogen project, backed by a $504 million DOE loan and first-phase output targeted at 21 million kilograms per year.
- LADWP’s board also approved an $800 million conversion of two units at the Scattergood Generating Station to operate on a natural gas and green hydrogen blend with an eventual transition to full hydrogen.
- Environmental groups argue the hydrogen-plus-gas strategy extends fossil infrastructure, while LADWP says advanced controls will keep NOx emissions well below permit limits and notes hydrogen combustion produces no carbon dioxide.