Sacramento, Calif. — The fate of the Hydrogen Energy California (HECA) coal/petroleum coke-based nitrogen and electricity project planned for Kern County, Calif., should be decided within the next few weeks, according to a spokesperson for the California Energy Commission (GM June 29, p. 14). Two matters are under consideration – a request by HECA for a six-month suspension and another by opponents to terminate HECA’s application for certification (AFC). HECA said that its good faith attempts to negotiate C02 offtake and storage for the project, most notably with Occidental and successor company California Resources Corp., have not panned out and that it needs more time. On the positive side, it said the Internal Revenue Service has recently allocated $294.8 million of Section 48A tax credits to the project as a qualifying advanced coal project. In the meantime, opponents argue that HECA, which has been in the works since 2008, has had plenty of time and has spent hundreds of millions of federal taxpayer funds and thousands of hours of CEC and state permitting staff time, as well as the years and expense to opponents. They also note that California water resources are now in short supply and that HECA would require a considerable amount. Opponents argue that no C02 deal is imminent, and should CEC approve the six month suspension, a C02 deal should be ready when that time has passed or else the AFC terminated.
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