For the hydrogen conversion, Intermountain Power Agency (IPA) ordered two 1-on-1 M501 JAC power trains, equipped with air-cooled dry low NOx combustion system with hydrogen-rich fuel capability.
Following first fire, the turbines will initially run on a 30:70 mix of hydrogen and natural gas which will cut emission by more than 70 percent compared with the retiring coal-fired unit. In the run-up to 2045, the hydrogen co-firing capability will then be systematically increased to 100%, enabling carbon-free power generation at a utility-scale plant.
Situated in Delta, re-fuelled plant will provide green energy to Los Angeles and municipalities in other parts of California and Utah. It is owned by the IPA and operated by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP).
L.A. mandates green energy conversions
Green hydrogen co-firing is supported by Los Angeles’ 2019 sustainable city plan that envisages to transform the metropolis to 100% renewable power. The state law requires that all retails electricity sales and all electricity procured by state agencies should be zero-carbon by the end of 2045.
Due Los Angeles’ mandated fossil fuel exit, LADWP knows that it will no longer be able to sell electricity from the coal fired Intermountain Power Project (IPP) in Utah. “IPA knew that the customers for those coal units were going to go away in 2025,” the utility’s spokesman John Ward commented. That year, the plant’s existing Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) expires with LADWP, the plant’s biggest customer. Converting the plant to hydrogen was a precondition for renewing the PPA.
As America’s largest municipal utility, LADWP currently generates 18% of its electricity from coal which is higher than the 3.3 percent in California’s state-wide energy mix. The utility provides electricity to an estimated 1.5 million customers in Los Angeles, and another 5,000 in the Owens Valley.
Making use of excess renewable energy
California has heavily invested in wind and solar power, creating great challenges for power grid operator who cannot handle the excess production of inherently intermittent renewable energy. At times, carbon-free renewable energy units have to be shut down because the grid cannot handle it.
Energy storage, or using that excess renewable energy to produce hydrogen, would greatly alleviate the strain on grid operators. Batteries can currently store electricity for four hours, and even if the technology can be enhanced to eight hours, the required storage footprint would be massive.
Hydrogen, in contrast, can be stored in large quantities in the natural gas network for long periods, and be used for power generation as needed.