By Barbara W. Brandom, MD
I was excited to read the headline, ‘Stopped a proposed blue hydrogen plant.’ I have been listening to Bob Howarth and Mark Jacobson explain why the production of blue hydrogen makes more greenhouse gasses than simply burning gas to make electricity.
https://vimeo.com/showcase/10208557/video/801338146
https://vimeo.com/showcase/10208557/video/821373576
When I learn that a blue hydrogen hub will not be built I feel hopeful. Perhaps Pennsylvania can avoid more pollution from fracking wells and their wastes. Perhaps less methane will escape from the bowels of the earth. Perhaps Federal funding for hydrogen hubs will not result in industrial developments which negatively impact more forests, farms and homesteads in Pennsylvania.
How was this development stopped? Mia DiFelice posted ‘How to Shut Down a Dirty Blue Hydrogen Project’ on February 10, 2023 at https://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/2023/02/10/exton-park-blue-hydrogen/. The story has a longer history than is initially apparent. In December 2022 Ginny Marcille-Kerslake noticed a ‘curious’ amendment to a zoning ordinance in the township of West Whiteland in Chester County, PA. A local developer, Charles Lyddane, needed a zoning change to allow construction of a data center and power source. The West Whiteland Board of Supervisors would vote on vote on this amendment on December 21, 2022 to proceed with a public hearing on this amendment.
At this time of year many people are preoccupied with preparations for holiday and family gatherings. But Ginny knew that she had to find out as much as possible about this project as quickly as she could. After the Mariner East pipeline passed through this township, crossing Ginny’s property, creating sinkholes and destroying the quality of neighbors’ private well water, Ginny became an organizer for Food and Water Watch. She found that Mr. Lyddane had already secured zoning permission from East Whiteland. The planned data center could cover between 1 million and 5 million square feet in East and West Whiteland. It could be 60 feet high on the border of Exton Park.
Ginny asked questions at the Board of Supervisors meeting. Why was the application for a data center and power generation? Why were gas and steam-powered hydrogen in this application? The developer asked her to visit the proposed site with him. A reporter and his photographer joined them. Mr. Lyddane spoke about his goal of including construction of a gas burning power plant and a blue hydrogen energy source. In the article noted above Mia DiFelice provided links to documentation of the excessive costs of blue hydrogen, including the failures of carbon capture (https://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/2022/09/27/carbon-capture-failures/). By definition carbon capture is part of the making of blue hydrogen.
The Board of Supervisors agreed to consider the developer’s proposal at a meeting on January 25, 2023. Libby Madarasz, a Food and Water Watch volunteer, and Ginny started a Facebook group called Protect Exton Park from Gas Power Station and Data Center. Exton Park is a 727 acre reserve that the residents of West Whiteland fought to protect from development in the 1990s. Exton Park is now owned jointly by the Township and Chester County. If a gas power station were to be built adjacent to Exton Park, park visitors would need protection from the carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxides, produced when gas is burned, as well as from the volatile organic compounds and particulate matter that are also released from electricity generators powered by burning gas.
Libby and Ginny went door to door talking about this proposal and gathering signatures, for a petition to be presented at the Jan 25th meeting. They handed out informational flyers at trailheads in Exton Park. Many people enjoyed the Chester Valley Trail on sunny Martin Luther King Day. They approached a new neighborhood adjacent to the Park, and found that residents already knew about the proposal. People had already read the news on their neighborhood What’s Ap. Ginny and Libby spoke at local meetings of nature enthusiasts and at churches. No one wanted air pollution from a gas burning electricity generator or a larger blue hydrogen hub wafting through Exton Park and the rest of their community. The petition had more than 400 signatories
The activists also spoke with reporters at local papers who were writing about the proposed center and the power that it would use. https://www.inquirer.com/real-estate/commercial/data-centers-proposed-suburban-chester-county-pennsylvania-20230119.html
The datacenter would be the second largest user of electricity in the region supplied by PICO. PECO, Therefore its operation has the potential to increase electricity rates for families. At the last minute the developer with drew this proposal. Ginny suspects that the public pressure against this project became too much for the local developer.
This developer acted as many others have, submitting the initial proposal quietly when people might not notice it. If it were not for public outcry the project could have been approved and construction started before the community recognized what it was losingloosing. This has happened before in many places in Pennsylvania. Now, because of billions of dollars in federal subsidies many developers want to use the abundant fracked gas in Pennsylvania to capture carbon and make hydrogen. Recognize that fracking releases many toxic chemicals into our air & water (https://psr.org/issues/environment-health/fracked-gas/) and that the methane which leaks from every step in the harvest, transport and burning of gas, as well as from hundreds of thousands of abandoned wells, is more potent at trapping heat in the atmosphere than is carbon dioxide. Now is the time to stop building infrastructure for industries that rely on burning fossil fuels.
In this case, the previous experience of this community was important in 2 different ways. They worked hard to preserve the natural spaces in Exton Park from suburban development. They suffered damage to their air and water by the construction and operation of the Mariner East pipeline. Ginny became aware of the work of Food and Water Watch when the group came to Chester County to teach and help people following the damage produced by pipeline drilling and the failure of government and regulators to restrain the petrochemical industry. Thus many people in West Whiteland recognized the importance of working together to preserve their natural resources. Two of these people, Ginny Marcille-Kerslake and Libby Madarasz joined with Food and Water Watch (https://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/), a non-governmental organization of more than 2 million supporters fighting for safe food, clean water and a livable climate for all. There is strength in numbers and experience. When people on the front line like Ginny remain vigilant great service can be given to their community.
Proposals for hydrogen hubs in Pennsylvania have been submitted to the United States Department of Energy. In October six to ten hydrogen hubs in the USA will receive funding approval from the federal government. Now is the time to start following the permitting requests in your area. None of us should be caught off guard. But industry will not make big announcements of their plans to the public. They discuss their plans in closed meetings. We must remain vigilant in order to protect our communities as much as possible. Look for ways to co-operate with larger groups that share your goals.
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