The developer planning to build a liquified green hydrogen production site in the west Texas desert has acquired the solar modules which will be used to generate carbon-free electricity to power the electrolyzers at the H2 site.
Clean Energy Holdings (CEH) is purchasing 380 MW (direct current) of solar module capacity from manufacturer Philadellphia Solar USA. The Phenex half-cell solar photovoltaic bifacial modules will be made in the USA, the company said.
Once completed and delivered, the panels will be installed as part of a solar farm near Sylvester, Texas. The solar electricity will power CEH’s Clear Fork electrolzyer project designed to produce about 33,000 kilograms of liquified green hydrogen per day.
Hydrogen itself does not contain carbon in its molecular chain, but it can only be produced in quantity by methods including steam reforming of methane gas or by electrolyzers using electricity to split the H2 out of water. To be considered green hydrogen, the electrolyzers must be powered by carbon-free resources such as solar, wind, hydro or nuclear.
“We at Philadelphia Solar are delighted to be providing our high efficiency Made in America panels to Clean Energy Holdings for this landmark project, which demonstrates America’s resurgence as a global clean energy leader and a manufacturing powerhouse,” Mohammad Shehadeh, Chief Operating Officer of Philadelphia Solar USA, said in a statement. “The incentives provided in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 are already accelerating the transition to a sustainable energy mix as well as creating well paid permanent jobs for skilled US workers as panel manufacturing is re-shored to the US.”
CEH expects to bring its Clear Fork project into commercial operation by the third quarter of 2024. Last year, the developer hired ING Americas to advise it on financing projects such as Clear Fork hydrogen site.
The work is part of a Renewable Energy and Technology Alliance featuring partners such as Equix and Bair Energy.
“Clean Energy Holdings and our Alliance partners are continuing to lead green hydrogen development in the United States, and we are proud to be returning high paying, reliable jobs (and) manufacturing to our shores,” CEH co-founder and President Cornelius Fitzgerald said.
Hydrogen, same as natural gas, is liquified by chilling it to temperatures several hundred degrees below zero. The liquefaction condenses it for storage and makes it mor stable for shipping.
Many energy producers are exploring the role of hydrogen in power generation and fuel cell transportation. The gas is energy dense and carbon-free.
