The federal government has funded more than $300 million in stimulus money for a Kern County plant that makes electricity from hydrogen.
The plant, which will power 150,000 local homes, creates hydrogen from gases that are the byproduct of oil production, and vents its own waste into underground oil fields, which will improve production, according to the governor's office.
A natural gas plant that could make that much electricity would create more than 2 million tons of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere annually.
The money will go to Hydrogen Energy International for its plant near Stockdale Highway and Interstate 5.
Hydrogen Energy International estimates that the project will create up to 1,500 construction jobs and up to 100 permanent jobs.
“This project is a fantastic use of Recovery Act dollars because it will not only create green collar construction jobs, but it will avoid greenhouse gas emissions and further propel us toward a clean energy future.,'' said California Recovery Task Force Director Cynthia Bryant.
''The Schwarzenegger Administration has been working to get California’s fair share of federal stimulus funding and getting it out the door and into California’s economy as quickly and effectively as possible, and this project is a prime example of federal Recovery Act action in California,” Bryant said.
