Green hydrogen facility construction 12 to 18 months away

By Daniel
Feb 7, 2023

Representatives from Air Products and AES met with local officials and community leaders to discuss their development of an estimated $4 billion renewable energy and green hydrogen project in Wilbarger County.

The project will be owned and operated through an equal partnership between Air Products and AES.

The facility will be powered by renewable energy and with the capability of producing over 200 metric tons of green hydrogen per day. The hydrogen produced is intended to supply the transportation and industrial markets, according to Air Products and AES.

Three primary components make up the project, wind energy, solar energy and the hydrogen production facility. The location of the plant is currently planned to be near the Oklaunion Power Station. The planned solar energy component is to be placed on 5,000 to 6,000 acres in Wilbarger County to the east and southwest of the hydrogen facility. Between 150 and 200 wind turbines are planned for construction in Wilbarger and Baylor counties, spread across an estimated 90,000 acres.

The combined energy produced through wind and solar will provide the electrical power needed to produce over 200 metric tons per day of hydrogen through electrolysis. Electrolysis is a process that separates water into hydrogen and oxygen gases. The hydrogen gas will be captured for commercial use, while the oxygen will be released into the air.
To produce 200 metric tons of hydrogen, approximately 480,000 gallons of water is necessary for electrolysis. As of the date of the presentation by Air Products/AES, a contract for a water supply was yet to be completed.

The hydrogen is intended to be marketed for use in industry and heavy duty transportation.

Air Products/AES forecast the project to create up to 1,350 construction jobs, 115 permanent local operations jobs and around 200 transportation and distribution jobs; hundreds of millions in tax benefits to the state and counties over the course of the project’s lifetime; and additional hundreds of millions in local spending due to construction of the multi-technology project.

The construction phase of the project, according to information provided by Air Products/AES, is estimated to begin in 12 to 18 months with production of hydrogen set to begin in 2027.