Environmentalists are calling for a state court to block development of a hydrogen hub in a Northern California port, citing concerns that air pollution from the planned facility will exacerbate already poor local air quality.
The Sierra Club, Center for Biological Diversity and others filed a lawsuit last Wednesday challenging the Port of Stockton’s approval of the BayoTech BayoGaaS Hydrogen Hub, saying it is violates state environmental law. The hydrogen generation, compression and storage facility — which is slated to begin production in mid-2025 — would be built on the doorstep of a disadvantaged community that faces some of the highest asthma rates in California.
Hydrogen has been marketed as a cleaner transportation fuel alternative because burning it does not release planet-warming emissions like fossil fuels. But the overall environmental footprint of the fuel depends on how it is produced. In this case, BayoTech plans to extract hydrogen from methane.
“This is dirty hydrogen, delivered by dirty trucks, for potentially dirty uses. If the port wants to build this project, it must do a better job explaining how it will clean up all of this pollution,” said Earthjustice attorney Katrina Tomas in a statement last week.
