Lancaster Planning Commission has approved Element Resources’ Lancaster Clean Energy Center— a renewable hydrogen production facility utilizing photovoltaic (PV) solar for its power supply.
In 2023, the City of Lancaster and Element Resources announced a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to formalize their partnership. The Lancaster Clean Energy Center is only one step in a long plan to collaborate on developing Lancaster’s renewable hydrogen infrastructure, supplying hydrogen locally, and working with other partners to expand the broader hydrogen supply chain. Beyond this, the energy center will bring about 35 new high-paying, permanent jobs to the people of Lancaster and hundreds of highly skilled union positions during the construction phase.
The center will be divided into two sites: the first at 442 acres and the second at 896 acres. Six-hundred-fifty megawatts (MW) of ground-mounted PV solar arrays will power the center with an additional 330 MWh of long-duration battery energy storage to provide power during times of low solar output.
The renewable hydrogen production plant will incorporate 400 MWe of hydrogen production and liquefied and gaseous hydrogen storage. On-site, there will be two cylindrical tanks and three spherical liquified hydrogen storage tanks, facilities for filling hydrogen transport trailers and zero-emission hydrogen vehicles and trucks, control and office buildings, warehouse and service buildings, and cooling towers.
Commenting on the project, Steve Meheen, Chairman & CEO of Element Resources, said, “We look forward to working with the City of Lancaster to further this project and generate economic opportunity for the local community.”
