BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM
California just closed a gap that’s been undermining its clean energy numbers for years. Governor Newsom signed SB 1350 into law, qualifying green hydrogen electricity as a renewable source under the state’s Renewables Portfolio Standard. Power plants that use it now earn financial incentives. Worth paying attention to.
What green hydrogen does
Roughly 60 percent of California’s electricity comes from renewables, per a 2024 California Energy Commission report. That sounds solid until you look at when the other 40 percent shows up: overnight, in winter, when solar goes dark and stored wind power runs thin. Fossil fuels fill that window.
Green hydrogen is a storage fix. You use solar or wind to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, store the hydrogen, and convert it back through fuel cells or combustion turbines when you need it. Energy generated at noon on a clear day is still available at 2 am in January.
What SB 1350 does
To qualify under the new law, a facility has to meet three requirements: hydrogen from state-certified renewable sources, at least 20 percent green hydrogen in its fuel blend, and certified air pollution reduction from that use.
Qualifying facilities earn credits under California’s Renewables Portfolio Standard, which requires utilities to hit 60 percent clean electricity by 2030. Those credits can be sold to non-qualifying facilities, so the financial case goes beyond compliance.
The bill passed unanimously in both chambers. Sen. Jerry McNerney, D-Stockton, introduced it; the Green Hydrogen Coalition and the State Building and Construction Trades Council of California co-sponsored.
What comes next
The Lodi Energy Center, 15 miles north of Stockton, already plans to run on green hydrogen. The Lancaster Clean Energy Center in Southern California, from Element Resources, opens in 2028 as the largest green hydrogen facility in the country.
“Governor Newsom’s signing of SB 1350 is a landmark step toward securing California’s clean energy future,” said Janice Lin, founder and president of the Green Hydrogen Coalition. “This legislation gives utilities, developers and investors the confidence to move forward with the next generation of dispatchable clean power.”
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