Town of Hempstead Supervisor Don Clavin and National Grid New York President Rudolph Wynter (behind Clavin) refuel a hydrogen fuel vehicle at a new hydrogen fueling facility in Lido Beach, New York, on Dec. 15, 2021. The town produces its own emission-free “green” hydrogen. Photographer: J. Conrad Williams Jr./Newsday RM via Getty Images
Last week, lawmakers in New York City passed a bill banning natural gas hookups in all new buildings, becoming the largest U.S. city to enact measures restricting builders from installing gas-fueled stoves, furnaces and water heating systems in new construction.
The ban, which is set to take effect in 2023 for buildings under seven stories, joins similar regulations in Berkeley and Seattle; they’re part of the movement to “electrify everything” as a means of bringing down carbon emissions from energy use in buildings. But even as New York City signaled its intentions to move away from fossil fuels, National Grid — a local utility that opposed the city ban — committed to making its existing natural gas infrastructure cleaner and greener.
On Dec. 15, National Grid and the Long Island town of Hempstead announced the “HyGrid Project,” a program to blend zero-emission “green” hydrogen into the natural gas distribution system to heat about 800 homes and fuel at least 10 municipal vehicles.
“We believe that hydrogen can transform the energy industry, and we are on the forefront,” Rudolph Wynter, president of National Grid New York, said in a statement. “This exciting project shows that hydrogen blending can be used to decarbonize the existing networks.”
Green hydrogen refers to hydrogen produced entirely from renewable power sources, such as wind or solar energy, instead of using fossil fuels. (Most hydrogen in commercial use is created using more carbon-intensive techniques.)
Hempstead’s existing wind and solar generating equipment produces the hydrogen, which will be blended with conventional natural gas gradually over the next three years, starting with 5% this year and then increasing incrementally to finally reach 20%, Wynter said. (At higher concentrations, hydrogen can damage natural gas pipelines and appliances that use it.)
This natural gas/hydrogen blend can be used in standard home appliances such as furnaces, stoves and clothes dryers. About 60% of U.S. homes rely on gas heating, including three in five houses in New York State, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Although HyGrid is just a pilot project right now, National Grid, which operates in New York, Rhode Island and Massachusetts, is looking to expand the availability of the hybrid fuel more broadly. The utility is also partnering with Stony Brook University, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority and the Low-Carbon Resources Initiative to research decarbonization.
The Hempstead pilot is one of the first hydrogen blend projects in the U.S. to go into homes. National Grid U.K. has been doing a similar project in Scotland, and an Australian gas company began powering homes with a 5% green hydrogen blend in May. Hydrogen blending pilots have also emerged in California and Colorado. Bloomberg CityLab - link - Josyana Joshua - link - more like this - link
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