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Study looks at hydrogen use to help reduce carbon emissions

Duke Energy’s combined heat and power plant at Clemson University. Photo courtesy of Duke Energy.

Duke Energy is exploring the use of hydrogen at its plants to meet future state mandates for net-zero carbon emissions. It's part of a study that's taking place at Clemson University.

The pilot project is called H2-Orange.

Siemens Energy is also part of the collaboration. The company is the technology developer behind Duke Energy's latest natural gas plants.

The U.S. Department of Energy awarded Siemens a $200,000 grant for the research initiative.

The study is underway at a Duke Energy power plant on the Clemson University campus. It includes research on multiple forms of hydrogen production, such as green hydrogen, which is created from water and has no by-products. It is also looking at hydrogen storage capabilities and pairing it with natural gas.

Company spokesman Bill Norton says Duke Energy's newer facilities are already hydrogen capable.

“We are going to continue evaluating that and use the research happening down there to see if there are ways to make that happen on a larger scale,” says Norton.

Norton says all of this could help Duke Energy meet a long-term net-zero carbon goal by 2050 in accordance with North Carolina's recent clean energy legislation

Last October, Gov. Cooper signed North Carolina's new clean energy legislation, The bipartisan law requires the state utilities commission to take steps needed to achieve a 70 percent carbon reduction from public utilities by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2050.

Duke Energy says it just wrapped up public input sessions on its proposed clean energy plan. The company has until mid-May to file it with the North Carolina Utilities Commission.

Siemens Energy and Clemson University also have plans to reach net-zero carbon goals by 2030.

Follow WFDD's Keri Brown on Twitter @kerib_news

Keri Brown is a multi-award winning reporter and host at 88.5 WFDD. She has been honored with two regional Edward R. Murrow awards for her stories about coal ash, and was named the 2015 radio reporter of the year by the Radio Television Digital News Association of the Carolinas (RTDNAC).Although she covers a variety of topics, her beats are environmental and education reporting.Keri comes to the Triad from West Virginia Public Broadcasting, where she served as the Chief Bureau Reporter for the Northern Panhandle. She produced stories for the state's Public Television and Radio programs and was honored by the West Virginia Associated Press Broadcasters Association for her feature and enterprise reporting.She also served as an adjunct instructor at Wheeling Jesuit University and Bethany College in West Virginia. She worked with the Center for Educational Technologies in Wheeling, WV, and other NASA centers across the country to develop several stories about the use of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) concepts in the classroom.Keri's journalism career began at WTRF-TV 7 in Wheeling. She worked in several roles at the station, including the head assignment editor. She also was a field producer and assignment manager at WPGH-TV Fox 53 in Pittsburgh.Keri is a graduate of Ohio University. When she's not in the studio or working on a story, she enjoys watching college football with her family, cooking, and traveling.Keri is always looking for another great story idea, so please share them with her. You can follow her on Twitter @kerib_news.

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