Tuesday 4 January 2022

National Grid and Town of Hempstead partner for green hydrogen blending project

National Grid and the Town of Hempstead have teamed up for what is claimed will be one of the first and largest green hydrogen projects of its kind in the US.

The HyGrid Project, located in Point Lookout on Long Island, will blend green hydrogen into the existing distribution system to heat around 800 homes and fuel 10 municipal vehicles.

National Grid plans to expand the existing hydrogen facility, which was developed in 2009 to provide locally-produced green hydrogen for vehicles.

It will now blend hydrogen for heating homes and transportation at the same time.

Rudy Wynter, President of National Grid New York said: “We believe that hydrogen can transform the energy industry and we are on the forefront.

“This will be the largest green hydrogen blending project for direct use by utility customers in the Northeast and one of the first in the country. This exciting project shows that hydrogen blending can be used to decarbonise the existing networks. This vision began 12 years ago and now we have an exciting option that helps meet the goals of New York State's Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) by using a safe, reliable and cost-efficient energy system to benefit our customers.”

The Town of Hempstead has existing wind and solar at the site for generation of hydrogen fuel for its vehicles and National Grid has an adjacent facility that provides energy for the Point Lookout neighbourhood.

Hempstead Town Supervisor Don Clavin added: “The Town of Hempstead continues to be a clean energy leader amongst municipalities, as we have demonstrated the use of wind, solar and green hydrogen, among an array of projects, at our Point Lookout Energy Park.

“We are ready to work with National Grid to build on this legacy and thank them for their partnership on this cutting-edge initiative that will deliver zero carbon energy to America's largest township for years to come.”