The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Loan Program Office (LPO) offered a conditional commitment of a $504.4 million loan guarantee for the Advanced Clean Energy Storage (ACES) Project in Delta, Utah. The project will be a first-of-a-kind facility to produce and store hydrogen for long-term seasonal energy storage. Planned for start-up in 2025 with 220 megawatts of electrolyzers capable of making 100 metric tons of hydrogen per day, ACES will store excess, otherwise curtailed renewably generated power as hydrogen in nearby salt caverns. The hydrogen will fuel the Intermountain Power Agency’s IPP Renewed Project, replacing an existing coal-fired unit. The project plans to start with a 30 percent blend of hydrogen with natural gas, raising the hydrogen portion to 100 percent by 2045. ACES is expected to provide up to 400 construction and 25 operations jobs while catalyzing further clean energy economy development to make Utah a hydrogen hub.
Hydrogen is a major focus of DOE, including through its Hydrogen Shot and Long-duration Storage Shot initiatives and multiple Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (aka Bipartisan Infrastructure Law) provisions. Utah is among the 14 states and two Canadian provinces, along with NASEO, DOE, and other public and private sector organizations, partnered in the Western Green Hydrogen Initiative. The Initiative works to accelerate green hydrogen infrastructure to advance economic and environmental benefits. NASEO’s hydrogen pages offers a hydrogen overview report and resources oriented to state policy and planning needs.