ORANGE COVE – For the first time in nearly three years, the Orange Cove City Council has listened to residents’ pleas and said “no” to hydrogen blending.
The Orange Cove City Council formally recorded its opposition to the Southern California Gas Company’s proposed hydrogen blending demonstration project with a unanimous vote June 24. In the approved resolution, the city council recognized the widespread opposition to the project and said it stands firmly with the community.
“We’re here to listen to you, the residents,” Mayor Gilbert Garcia said. “We’re not here to listen to outsiders. They have their opinion too, but what I’m worried about more, or I should be more concerned (with) is our residents here in the city of Orange Cove. And your voice has been heard, and it has been heard loudly.”
About two dozen people were in attendance at the meeting, most to show support for the resolution.
Orange Cove residents have been organizing against the demonstration project for more than two years now. In April, they submitted a petition to the city council with the signatures of about 650 residents who have said they oppose the project.
Since then, representatives of Orange Cove United have spoken during public comment at council meetings to ask for updates on the petition and the council’s position. Resident Estela Juarez said it has been 63 days since she submitted the petition and 755 days since she began asking for better clarification about the project.
“I can’t believe that it was on tonight’s agenda and that it would be addressed,” Juarez said. “Do I believe that we are owed an apology? Yes, we are deserving of one, especially since former and sometimes even current council members sometimes spoke to us as if we weren’t informed individuals.”
Juarez said the council should be proud that they have residents “brave enough to learn and understand and speak on this matter.”
“All I ask in moving forward is to please take your residents into consideration, as you have the privilege to represent us in our town of Orange Cove, but you also have the responsibility to protect our safety,” Juarez said.
Juarez then asked if council members would be willing to sign the petition as well, which they agreed to.
Councilmember Cassy Ortiz addressed the delay in the resolution following the petition. She said that because the petition signatures did not include residents’ addresses, the council had to look through the names carefully and verify that the people who signed the petition did in fact live in the city.
Garcia also said the council had to get legal advice regarding what they could do to oppose the project.
“Please understand it wasn’t to keep you in the dark, it was for us to do our due diligence as your council to take care of business,” Ortiz said. “And that’s why we’re here tonight to do this, because we’ve heard you, but it took time.”
What happens next?
In the resolution, the city council asserts that it has a primary duty to protect the health, safety, welfare and peace of mind of the residents of Orange Cove.
The resolution acknowledges that the council has received “direct, extensive communication” from community members “expressing deep worry” over the project and that a petition signed by over 650 residents was presented to the council explicitly demanding a withdrawal of support.
Through the resolution, the council recorded its official opposition to the demonstration project and said it aims to prioritize residents, “elevating the voices, petitions and direct feedback of the residents above the proposed utility trial.”
With this, SoCalGas spokesperson Brian Haas said in a statement sent to the Mid Valley Times that the company respects the city’s decision and is grateful to have had the opportunity to work with the city on the potential project.
“Given the large amount of research and real-world experience showing hydrogen blending to be safe at low levels, we will continue working through the California Public Utilities Commission to advance other demonstration projects and establish a low-level hydrogen blending standard.”
The resolution also directs the city clerk to transmit a certified copy of the resolution to both SoCalGas and the CPUC to “officially register the city’s non-support.”
From there, the project still remains in the hands of the CPUC.
Hydrogen blending
The demonstration project in question is one of many hydrogen blending demonstration projects currently under review by the CPUC.
Hydrogen blending in this context refers to the act of generating “clean,” renewable hydrogen gas and mixing it in with the other natural gas that is delivered to utility customers across the state. Utilities are considering it as one way to meet requirements set by the state of California to reduce carbon emissions.
Hydrogen is considered a “clean” gas because it does not emit carbon when burned. Further, it is able to be created through a process called electrolysis, which can be powered by renewable solar energy. The process can use recycled water to isolate the hydrogen molecule, forming hydrogen gas. The byproduct of this is oxygen, which is safe to be released into the air.
SoCalGas, along with Pacific Gas & Electric Company, Southwest Gas Corporation and more, has been directed by the state to create a demonstration project that shows the real-world application of hydrogen blending in the natural gas system.
The gas companies have a body of research, some of which was conducted by the University of California, Riverside, showing that hydrogen blending can be done safely up to 20%. The project proposed for Orange Cove would have added hydrogen to the city’s natural gas up to just 5%.
However, other studies — cited by Orange Cove residents and various environmental groups opposed to hydrogen blending as a whole — identify risks associated with hydrogen blending, including adverse health impacts, particularly for individuals with asthma.
Residents have consistently expressed concerns about their household appliances not being fit for hydrogen blending. Even if the chance of any damage to appliances or the city’s gas infrastructure is minimal, Orange Cove community members have said they cannot afford that.
Roots in Orange Cove
The Mid Valley Times was the first news outlet to report on the proposal in November 2023. Representatives from SoCalGas visited the council on Nov. 8, 2023, to provide an informational presentation. They then held a community engagement meeting on Nov. 9, 2023.
Before presenting to the council at that time, SoCalGas had invited council members to its H2 Innovation Experience facility located at the SoCalGas Energy Resource Center in Downey, a city near Los Angeles. Following the first presentation, council members had positive things to say about the experience.
At that time, SoCalGas had not yet definitively selected Orange Cove for the demonstration project. That came later, at the end of February 2024. On March 27, 2024, the Orange Cove City Council — with three people who no longer sit on the council — unanimously adopted a resolution directing city administration to work with SoCalGas on the project.
The resolution was short and listed just three points. It said SoCalGas has expressed intent to construct the project in Orange Cove, that the city council supported those efforts and would work alongside SoCalGas to complete the project and that the city manager would be authorized to sign contract documents related to the project.
According to previous reporting from the Mid Valley Times in April 2024, SoCalGas ultimately chose Orange Cove for the demonstration project site because its natural gas infrastructure lined up with what SoCalGas needed for the project.
The origin of the demonstration project itself dates back to 2022, when the California Public Utilities Commission directed SoCalGas and the four other investor-owned utilities in the state to conduct these projects. The intent of the projects is to help the CPUC develop a statewide injection standard for hydrogen blending.
SoCalGas began exploring its options, with technical feasibility as one criteria and community interest as another. The utility became connected with Orange Cove when former City Manager Daniel Parra met with SoCalGas representatives at a conference, he previously told the Mid Valley Times.
Feedback SoCalGas received from city administration, the city council and the public at the November 2023 community engagement meeting led SoCalGas to solidify its partnership with the city.
Once more residents learned of the project in the following months, however, opposition to it grew. In the spring of 2024, residents formed the group Orange Cove United to speak out against it with help from advocacy organizations Cultiva La Salud and Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability.
Representatives of Orange Cove United have repeatedly voiced their concerns about the project at various council meetings since then, with an increasing presence over the last six months. In February, residents began circulating the petition, gathering more than 100 signatures in just one afternoon.
An invitation to the H2 Innovation Experience facility in March did not sway residents in favor of the project, instead working to further solidify their opposition.
“With the trip that we took to see the hydrogen plant, that’s really what took me over the edge and said, you know what, this is something that is in a book, like a fantasy book — nobody lives in the home,” resident Leticia Mendoza said at the June 24 council meeting.
Mendoza said in doing her own research on hydrogen blending there were too many negative things about it and she’s not willing to risk that.
“Think about the risks that we have to take, and that’s where you have to draw your decision,” Mendoza said to the council. “Of course, some are for it, and some are not for it, but as a people, you always listen to the majority, because that’s how you got here, was the majority voted for you … it was the democratic process that I’m glad we have.”
