Mitsubishi lands 3.3 GW of new US hydrogen-compatible gas turbine orders

The developers of more than $3 billion in planned natural gas-fired generation projects in New York, Ohio and Virginia have selected Mitsubishi Power Americas Inc., a Florida-based affiliate of Japanese industrial giant Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., to supply hydrogen-compatible gas turbines along with the tools for generating and storing hydrogen produced from renewable sources of energy, the companies announced Sept. 2.

The three projects, totaling nearly 3,300 MW, are Tiger Partners LP's Danskammer Energy Center (Repowering) in Orange County, N.Y., Ember Partners LP's Cadiz Combined Cycle Plant (Harrison County Industrial Park) in Harrison County, Ohio, and Balico LLC's Chickahominy Power project in Charles City County, Va.

The three projects would initially be capable of operating on a mix of 30% hydrogen and 70% natural gas. They are planned for completion in 2022 and 2023, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data. Similar to the Intermountain Power Agency's planned 840-MW Intermountain project in Delta, Utah, a gas repowering of a coal-fired plant that also will rely on Mitsubishi turbines, the three facilities are designed to gradually transition to 100% green hydrogen. The projects will also use excess renewable energy to create and store hydrogen on-site through the process of electrolysis.

"The size and pace of electrolyzers and storage will depend on the regional adoption of renewables and need for energy storage," Mike Ducker, head of renewable fuels at Mitsubishi Power, said in an email.

Adding flexibility

The orders are part of an emerging push to establish hydrogen as a critical element of utility, corporate and state efforts to develop power systems relying on very high levels of variable wind and solar energy. That includes an initial $100 million, five-year research and development initiative that includes Mitsubishi Power — recently rebranded from Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems Americas Inc. — and a host of major U.S. utilities.

The New York, Ohio and Virginia projects include six turbine power trains, bringing Mitsubishi's total of gas turbine hydrogen conversions to eight and placing it at the forefront of the fledgling hydrogen industry, Ducker said.

"We are committed to helping New York meet its climate targets," William Reid, CEO of Danskammer Energy LLC, operator of the Danskammer repowering project, said in a news release. The developer selected Mitsubishi Power's product "because it would ready our facility to be a hydrogen-based zero-carbon power generator."

"We look forward to the flexibility the Mitsubishi Power technologies will provide as we ramp green hydrogen integration," added Raj Suri, president and CEO at Ember Partners, also known as EmberClear. The project is in line to become "the first hydrogen-capable project to reach commercial operation east of the Mississippi River," Suri said.

EmberClear also plans to use Mitsubishi Power as green hydrogen integrator at another planned gas plant in eastern Pennsylvania, Suri added. Ember Partners is co-owner of the planned 485-MW Archbald Energy Project in Lackawanna County, Pa., according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data.