US utility Dominion tries hydrogen on for size
US utility Dominion Energy said April 19 it was taking its next steps in the energy transition by developing pilot projects to blend hydrogen into its gas distribution systems.
At a facility in Utah, the company said it started a pilot project that envisions blending small amounts of hydrogen into its gas lines to see how it behaves before introducing the fuel option for its more than 1mn Utah gas utility customers. A similar project is envisioned for North Carolina.
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“We're investing in hydrogen today so it can hopefully transform the clean energy landscape in five or 10 years,” Mark Webb, the chief innovation officer at Dominion, said.
Calling it the “Swiss Army knife of clean energy,” Dominion said hydrogen can fill the same role as natural gas in the energy sector, but with fewer overall emissions. Dominion did not reveal the origin of the hydrogen for its pilot projects.
Elsewhere, the Virginia-based utility said it was looking at ways to utilise hydrogen for electricity, transportation and manufacturing, among other things.
Dominion, which supplies gas to over 7mn households, is committed to net zero CO2 and methane emissions from its power generation and gas infrastructure operations by 2050.
In November, it closed on the sale of the majority of its gas transmission and storage assets to Berkshire Hathaway Energy, an affiliate of Berkshire Hathaway. The assets involved included more than 5,500 miles of interstate gas transmission pipelines, about 775bn ft³ of operated gas storage and an operating 25% stake in the Cove Point LNG terminal.