NextEra Energy Resources is moving forward with opportunities for international offtake of green hydrogen, CEO Rebecca Kujawa said today.
The renewable energy giant has a potential $20bn pipeline of hydrogen projects in various stages of development in the US, facilities that would require roughly 15 GW of renewables to run, the executive said at the Reuters Hydrogen North America Conference in Houston.
Given the time required to garner interconnection approvals for renewables in the US, the company is primarily relying on its existing portfolio of 250 GW of renewable generation to advance its green hydrogen projects.
Kujawa said NextEra is focused on finding domestic offtake for green hydrogen, mentioning the company’s agreement to provide the molecule to an existing CF Industries ammonia plant. But it is also having “extensive” discussions with potential international offtakers.
New rules for hydrogen imports in the EU as wall as Korea and Japan are particularly attractive, she said during a fireside chat with Ivana Jemelkova of FTI Consulting.
“Clearly the EU rules that are in finalization form for RED III in Europe as well as the new requirements in South Korea and potentially Japan are incredibly exciting to be able to bring additional customer discussions to closure,” she said.
“We need to see customers who actually want to buy these molecules, and particularly buy these molecules at a price at which we can actually produce them,” she added.
NextEra is within a couple months of reaching COD on its Cavendish pilot plant, Kujawa said, where green hydrogen will be blended with gas for use in an existing combustion turbine at the co-located FPL Okeechobee Clean Energy Center. Cummins was slated to supply a 25 MW electrolyzer system for the facility.
