Photo / SuppliedA large gas supplier has revealed a plan that could make Hastings the centre of a new energy economy. The report details how Hawke's Bay and specifically Hastings will be used to phase in natural gas hydrogen blends – up to 20 per cent hydrogen - from 2030. First Gas hydrogen project leader Angela Ogier said the change to hydrogen could create dozens of jobs in a potential new regional energy industry: making hydrogen to power factories, homes, transport, and store energy. The plan, Ogier said, is to gradually start generating enough Hawke's Bay hydrogen to blend into natural gas, and producing enough by 2050 to displace natural gas entirely. Ogier said a local energy industry would also increase the ability of the region to handle fluctuations in demand and supply, and outages, across all types of energy.

Source: New Zealand Herald April 06, 2021 03:33 UTC