Calistoga, a town on the northern edge of California's Napa Valley, has had its power shut off 10 times in recent years due to local wildfires, in order to protect residents.
During those times, the Associated Press reported, the town relied on noisy and polluting diesel generators for power, but that's about to change.
A first-of-its-kind clean-energy system that combines hydrogen fuel cells and battery storage is set to replace the dirty diesel generators, providing two days' worth of backup power for the community, according to the AP report.
Experts told the outlet that the system being installed by Energy Vault is more than just a source of clean backup power in emergencies; it's also a stepping stone toward supporting the electrical grid any day of the year.
Hydrogen is a light, storable, and energy-dense fuel that doesn't directly emit pollutants or planet-warming gases. The only output is water vapor, which reporters recalled wafting from the cells as they toured the site.
"Continuing to depend on fossil fuels was simply not sustainable," Lisa Grift, a Calistoga resident who also serves on the city council, told the AP. "That's what excited me about this. It's a clean and reliable energy solution that ensures the safety and resilience of our community."
With climate change being an underlying cause of regional fires, the town is choosing not to worsen the effects with diesel generators — instead, it is serving as a testing ground for the new technology.
"There's a massive proof point with this project," Energy Vault CEO Robert Piconi told the AP. "I think it'll have a lot of implications for how people think about alternative, sustainable solutions."
He explained that other communities, military bases, and data centers could also benefit from these types of clean-energy systems, though many would likely want to see them in action before making the switch.
Dirty fuels, such as coal, oil, and gas, are the largest contributors to the changing climate, accounting for 75% of all planet-warming emissions and 90% of all CO2 output, per the U.N.
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Yes — a portable generator 👍 Hydrogen is one of the key elements, alongside solar, wind, and hydro power, in helping society make the shift towards cleaner, greener energy sources.
Energy Vault confirmed that it's even sourcing the hydrogen from producers with low or no emissions to power the fuel cells in Calistoga, highlighting the company's commitment to reducing the project's carbon footprint, according to the AP report.
Local business owner Clive Richardson shared his enthusiasm for the comfort that this clean solution for emergency power will provide.
"This will give us far more security than we had before," he told the AP. "It's fantastic that it's come. Here we are, little ol' Calistoga, and we've got the first-of-a-kind system that hopefully will be endorsed and go all over the world."
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