U.S. electric power sector explores hydrogen cofiring at natural gas-fired plants

In-brief analysis

September 12, 2024

Against a backdrop of policies aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions, operators of a handful of natural gas plants have taken early steps to integrate hydrogen into their fuel streams. Hydrogen alone does not create CO₂ emissions when combusted.

A few natural gas power plant operators in the United States have taken or announced plans to take one of three steps:

• Testing cofiring hydrogen at existing facilities
• Upgrading existing turbines to use a blend of natural gas and hydrogen
• Including the capability to use a blend of natural gas and hydrogen when building new natural gas power plants

Natural gas is the single-largest source of energy used to generate electricity in the United States, making up 43% of electricity generation in 2023, but hydrogen use is not currently widespread or used regularly in the plants where it has been tested. The process of burning a blend of hydrogen with natural gas for electricity generation is known as cofiring. As the percentage of hydrogen by volume in the blend increases, the carbon dioxide emissions decrease, albeit at a slower rate because hydrogen is less energy dense than natural gas.

Several policies at the state and federal level aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions have bolstered interest in hydrogen. At the federal level, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's recently updated power plant rule, the U.S. Department of Energy's Hydrogen Hubs program, and production tax credits contained in the Inflation Reduction Act have lent support to the emerging hydrogen sector.

Upgrades at existing power plants
The operators of two existing natural gas-fired power plants have announced plans to add the capability to cofire hydrogen and natural gas by upgrading existing turbines.

Duke Energy plans to upgrade the 74-megawatt (MW) DeBary simple-cycle peaking power plant in Florida to generate electricity solely from hydrogen. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) is considering upgrading Units 1 and 2 of its Scattergood Generation Station to give it the capability to cofire 30% hydrogen by December 2029, possibly increasing to 100% hydrogen when it is feasible to do so.

Power plants under construction
The operators of three combined-cycle generating plants currently under construction announced they expect to have the capability to cofire hydrogen.

The municipal-owned Intermountain Power Agency is building a new 840-MW combined-cycle natural gas turbine plant at its facility in Utah to replace an existing 1,800-MW coal-fired plant. LADWP, which has the major stake in the combined-cycle power plant at the Intermountain site, stated that the new plant will be able to combust a mixture of 30% hydrogen and 70% natural gas.

In Louisiana, Kindle Energy LLC is building the 678-MW Magnolia Power Plant, which it expects to enter service sometime in 2025. Kindle Energy says the plant could cofire up to 50% hydrogen.

Similarly, in Texas, Entergy is building the 1,158-MW Orange County Advance Power Station, which it expects to begin operating by midyear 2026. Trade press reports indicate that this plant could cofire up to 30% hydrogen.

Cofiring tests at existing power plants
Some operators of natural gas turbine plants have successfully tested using fuel blends made up of as little as 5% to as much as 44% hydrogen.

The Long Ridge Energy Generation Project in Ohio is a 485-MW combined-cycle power plant that burned a blend that included 5% hydrogen by volume in March 2022.

In June 2022, Georgia Power's Jack McDonough power plant cofired a fuel blend that included up to 20% hydrogen in one of its 233-MW natural gas turbines. Georgia Power says the test released 7% fewer CO₂ emissions compared with burning natural gas alone.

In September 2022, the New York Power Authority's Brentwood power plant cofired a blend of natural gas starting at 5% and reaching 44% hydrogen by volume in its 47-MW peaking unit. According to the New York Power Authority, the cofiring process showed a CO₂ reduction of approximately 14% when hydrogen made up 35% of the natural gas stream.

In March 2023, the Upper Michigan Energy Resources Company conducted a test at its A.J. Mihm Generating station using 25% hydrogen in one of the station's three 18.8-MW reciprocating internal combustion engines.

In May 2023, Constellation Energy's Hillabee Energy Center, a combined-cycle natural gas turbine plant in Alabama, tested a blend of up to 38% hydrogen.

Principal contributors: Lindsay Aramayo, Mark Morey
Map: Jim O'Sullivan

Tags: electricity, hydrogen, natural gas, electric generation

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