Decarbonizing grids will be a joint effort by National Grid and the Town of Hempstead, which will result in the construction of one of the nation’s first and largest clean hydrogen projects.
Around 800 homes will be heated and ten city vehicles will be fuelled by the HyGrid Project in Point Lookout, Long Island. The town and National Grid collaborated in 2009 to build a hydrogen production facility to supply green hydrogen to local vehicles. The demonstration of low-carbon transportation provided by this project was a major success on a national scale. The Town of Hempstead and National Grid will now broaden the scope of the project to include the production of hydrogen for use in both home heating and transportation. Customers near the facility will be able to use this green hydrogen safely injected into the National Grid distribution network as a clean energy source.
“We believe that hydrogen can transform the energy industry, and we are on the forefront,” said Rudy Wynter, President of National Grid New York. “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 decarbonize 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.”
There is already a substantial amount of equipment in place to provide zero-carbon hydrogen. For the production of hydrogen fuel for its vehicles, the Town of Hempstead already has wind and solar equipment on-site, and National Grid has a nearby facility that provides energy to the Point Lookout community. There will be a merger of these facilities and the installation of new equipment by National Grid that will increase the town’s hydrogen production capacity.
“I’m proud to join with my colleagues on the Hempstead Town Board to announce this exciting partnership with National Grid on a transformative clean energy project that will expand and improve our hydrogen fueling facility in Point Lookout, while developing one of the first green hydrogen blending projects in the nation,” said Hempstead Town Supervisor Don Clavin. “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.”
