West Virginia’s hydrogen hub is being built in their backyard. They have questions.

POINT PLEASANT — Marsha Frame lives in a housing development tucked to the side of state Route 62 with her husband Randy and their dog. From their back porch, she can see acres upon acres of farmland.

“We planned on leaving this place feet first on a cart,” said Frame.

Just beyond Frame’s backyard, across a black chain fence, state officials are eyeing the hundreds of acres of land for a giant, multi-billion dollar investment that proponents say will help maintain West Virginia’s status as an energy powerhouse. By 2028, a private company plans to build and operate a hydrogen production facility that will power a neighboring data center.

The facility will produce hydrogen with no net emissions of carbon dioxide and is just one of several hydrogen production facilities proposed in West Virginia as part of the Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub , also known as ARCH2, which was one of seven hydrogen hubs across the nation selected to receive nearly $1 billion in federal funding.

Frame and her neighbors are scared. They’re worried about the potential health and safety hazards and wondering if they should move or will be bought out.

“The anxiety is one thing, the loss of enjoyment of life, the hit to the pocketbook we’re going to take after we’ve busted our butts our whole life. I mean, it’s just a laundry list,” said Frame. “Where do you start?”

But mostly, Frame and her neighbors are frustrated at having lots of questions, but getting few answers. There’s very little information known about the project besides what’s been shared in press announcements and residents said state and local officials haven’t responded to their questions.

“Everything’s hush-hush until it’s announced and when you try to get answers, you get the runaround,” said Beth Fisher, a neighbor of the Frames.

She and her husband raised three daughters in their home of 34 years and now, as empty nesters, they’re looking to remodel. Except with the project looming she’s not sure if she should anymore.

“I don’t want to until I know. I don’t want to live beside something like that,” said Fisher. “But I don’t want to move. I’m mad, I’m angry about it.”

Because Fidelis New Energy, the Houston-based company behind the project, is still surveying the land, there hasn’t been anything to tell the community, according to a county official, adding that there will be opportunities for public input and comment in the future. Fidelis did not respond to emailed questions.

Fidelis officials have previously said the project would rely on proven technologies and they would follow state and federal permitting processes to show it was safe.

The costs and questions of hydrogen in West Virginia

In August, state and company officials announced that Mason County was selected as the site. The project is expected to be built in four phases, with the hydrogen production facility becoming operational in 2028. It’s also supposed to provide 800 full-time jobs and 4,200 construction workers, according to the press release .

“West Virginia has a long history as an energy powerhouse for our nation, thanks to our hardworking people who know how to get the job done. And now, we’re in a great position to make the most of a new fuel – hydrogen – through this incredible project in Mason County,” said Gov. Jim Justice. “There’s simply no doubt that Fidelis is going to help shape the future of West Virginia in a major, major way by assisting in the commercial lift-off of some truly exciting new industries.”

The state Economic Development Authority also approved a three-year $62.5 million forgivable loan for the project.

Part of the project is expected to produce hydrogen energy from natural gas and renewables. Proponents tout the facility as clean, based on proposals to capture its carbon dioxide emissions. But carbon capture is extremely expensive and has not yet been shown to be as efficient or as effective on the scale that would be needed here.

The Appalachian hydrogen hub’s projects, including the one proposed for Mason County, are a result of the Biden administration’s push to increase the use of hydrogen as an energy source to reach its climate-related goals.

Frame and Fisher are worried about the noise level of the data center, pointing to how similar facilities have reportedly resulted in various complaints and lawsuits in other states over their noise level. Residents challenging a North Dakota data center argued that the noise level has been detrimental to their quality of life and health, according to North Dakota’s Williston Herald .

With how close the project’s location is to their homes, they also worry about the potential of an explosion and possible water contamination as carbon capture involves storing the captured carbon dioxide underground.

During the project’s announcement, Pete Hollis, the head of carbon capture for Fidelis, said that the carbon injected underground would not impact the drinking water, adding that no carbon can be injected until Fidelis shows through the permitting process that it’s “safe and reliable.”

He also stressed that Fidelis only uses “commercially proven technologies,” which include techniques and procedures that support the “safe and permanent” storage of carbon.

Despite the list of concerns, it’s the lack of answers from public officials that has frustrated them the most.

There will be opportunities for public comment and input on the project, according to John Musgrave, executive director of the Mason County Development Authority.

“The public will be brought in, and we would want that in the community. We would support having open meetings, we’ll probably sponsor some ourselves,” said Musgrave. “It’s just not time.”

But even some residents with long connections to nearby coal-fired plants have a lot of questions about this new type of energy production, including Jim Pyle, who recently retired as a technician and electrician from a nearby power plant like the two the Frames can see from their back porch.

Pyle was looking to do some work on his house, starting with his kitchen. However, news of the hydrogen project has him pumping the brakes.

“I don’t know what to do,” Pyle said. “The idea of making a clean fuel is great, but it doesn’t need to go right where people live.”

West Virginia’s hydrogen hub is being built in their backyard. They have questions. appeared first on Mountain State Spotlight , West Virginia's civic newsroom.