General Electric (GE) and Cricket Valley Energy Center (CVEC) have signed an agreement to develop a green hydrogen technology roadmap (H2 Roadmap) and advance a demonstration project to reduce carbon emissions at CVEC’s combined cycle power plant in Dover Plains, New York—the first step toward converting to a 100 percent hydrogen fuel capable plant.
The construction of the project is scheduled to commence in late 2022.
The project’s initial phase will demonstrate the feasibility of converting the natural gas-fueled facility to hydrogen, in accordance with New York State’s nation-leading Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA), which requires the electricity sector to achieve zero carbon emissions by 2040. The initiative will utilize one of CVEC’s three GE 7F.05 gas turbines by introducing 5% hydrogen blended with natural gas for several weeks, leveraging GE’s expertise with hydrogen and low-BTU fuels.
As a result of a CVEC-sponsored industry forum earlier this year, the agreement intends to expand to include leading hydrogen providers, as well as consultation with New York State and federal agencies, in order to develop policy guidance on hydrogen production, transportation, delivery, and storage. The H2 Roadmap will serve as a research and development roadmap for the technical adjustments required to boost hydrogen utilization percentages at the plant as hydrogen becomes more freely available, while still adhering to applicable operational norms.
“As a leader in providing reliable, dispatchable power generation, we enlisted GE’s extensive experience with hydrogen to support the development of lower-carbon technologies in the State of New York,” said Chuck Davis, President of Advanced Power Asset Management, which manages the facility. “With this agreement, we will begin to define a roadmap for the conversion of recently constructed natural gas-fired power plants to lower and zero carbon fuels as an important initiative to maintain system reliability as New York increases investment in intermittent wind and solar to meet the CLCPA goals.”
“We are pleased to work with CVEC to support their efforts in achieving carbon neutrality across their operations, while demonstrating the collaboration essential for a decade of action to reduce carbon emissions from the power generation sector,” said Scott Strazik, CEO of GE Gas Power. “GE’s gas turbine technology, building on decades of our leadership in low-BTU fuel operations including hydrogen fuels, validates the important role existing technologies and assets can play in reducing carbon emissions and combating climate change.”
