Hydrogen demonstration underway at NY power plant

A demonstration project will investigate the potential of substituting renewable hydrogen for a portion of the natural gas used to generate power at the New York Power Authority’s (NYPA) Brentwood Power Station on Long Island.

The project team will evaluate different concentrations of hydrogen blended with natural gas at regular intervals and will assess the blend’s effect on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and its overall system and environmental impacts, including nitrogen oxide emissions. The project will begin in fall 2021 and is expected to last six to eight weeks.

A demonstration project will investigate the potential of substituting renewable hydrogen for a portion of the natural gas used to generate power at the New York Power Authority’s (NYPA) Brentwood Power Station on Long Island.

The plant, which consists of a GE LM6000 combustion turbine currently fueled by natural gas, was commissioned in the summer of 2001 to increase local power generation capacity for Long Island and New York City in anticipation of potential summer power shortages. GE has more than 6 million operating hours and more than 30 years of experience using hydrogen and other similar low-BTU fuels.

NYPA will lead the project with collaboration from partners including EPRI, GE, Sargent & Lundy, Airgas, and Fresh Meadow Power. EPRI will assist with the project design and technical evaluation. As the gas turbine original equipment manufacturer, GE will supply a hydrogen/natural gas blending system and support the project’s planning and execution. Sargent & Lundy, acting as the engineer of record for the project, will provide overall engineering and safety reviews. Airgas is the supplier of renewable hydrogen and Fresh Meadow Power will provide piping system design, material procurement and installation services for the project.

“GE is proud to partner with NYPA, EPRI and other project participants to advance the deployment of lower-carbon gas power generation technology through a green hydrogen demonstration project,” said Scott Strazik, CEO of GE Power. “By utilizing pre-combustion hydrogen fuels to reduce carbon emissions, we will advance a decade of action to decarbonize the power generation industry and combat climate change. We look forward to utilizing our 80+ years of gas turbine development experience—including six million operating hours using alternative low heating value fuels including hydrogen—to accelerate a reliable, affordable, and sustainable energy future.”

To support this effort to study green hydrogen and its possible applications, New York state is collaborating with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and two hydrogen-focused organizations to inform state decision-making and making US$12.5 million in funding available for long duration energy storage technologies and demonstration projects that may include green hydrogen.