Los Angeles wants to become the first city in the nation to use renewable hydrogen to generate electricity without using carbon-based natural gas.
The city plans to replace coal generation, which produces about 80 percent of its electricity at a Utah power plant owned by the Intermountain Power Agency.
It is building a pair of gas fuel turbines that will produce 840 megawatts apiece. Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems Ltd. received an order for the turbines, while the new plant will be able to generate about 1,000 megawatt hours of electricity per year from renewable fuels.
On Tuesday Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems Ltd. and Los Angeles Electric Power Co. announced the deal.
Read More: Intermountain Power Agency Orders MHPS JAC Gas Turbine Technology for Renewable-Hydrogen Energy Hub
Fossil fuels have come under fire in recent years as the shift to clean energy has been widely announced and wind and solar energy have become cheaper to develop. Environmental activists have targeted natural gas as a carbon-based fuel that has survived its role as a “bridge” to renewable energy.
Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems is the manufacturer of the high-performance gas turbines, which can be operated around the clock as opposed to intermittent renewable generation. The Intermountain plant will operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week when it opens in 2025.
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