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A bill from an East Bay state senator to expand California’s use of green hydrogen energy, a medium for storing renewable energy, was signed into law last Monday night.
Senate Bill 1350 from Sen. Jerry McNerney (D-Pleasanton) qualifies the fuel’s usage as a clean energy source under the state’s renewable energy standards, providing financial incentives to power plants who use it.
Green hydrogen is a means of storing renewable energy. The fuel gets its “green” namesake as the result of it being created by using renewable energy sources like solar and wind. The hydrogen can then be stored and converted into electricity through fuel cells or combustion turbines at any time.
SB 1350 works alongside California’s Renewables Portfolio Standard, which requires electric utility companies to ensure that at least 60% of the electricity they provide comes from qualified clean energy sources by 2030. Qualifying facilities can also sell their credits to non-qualifying facilities and make a profit off of their production of clean energy.
The bill qualifies electricity generated from green hydrogen as a renewable energy source under California’s standards, as long as the hydrogen is produced from state-certified renewable sources, the facility uses at least 20% green hydrogen in its fuel blend, and the facility’s use of green hydrogen is certified to reduce air pollution.
SB 1350 was introduced to the state Legislature in February by McNerney, who represents San Joaquin County and the Tri-Valley area of eastern Alameda County. The bill was co-sponsored by the Green Hydrogen Coalition, a nonprofit focused on popularizing green hydrogen, and the State Building and Construction Trades Council of California.
Newsom signed SB 1350 into law after it received unanimous approval from both the state Senate and Assembly and was championed by McNerney as a key step in California’s broader clean energy transition.
“The Legislature’s overwhelming approval of SB 1350 sends a clear message: Green hydrogen is the gamechanger we need to meet our climate goals, and it will protect good-paying jobs throughout the state,” said McNerney in a statement.
Though renewable energy now accounts for roughly 60% of California’s electricity, according to a 2024 report by the California Energy Commission, McNerney’s office has found that the state continues to be powered by fossil fuels during overnight hours and winter months, when storage of renewable sources is depleted.
Green hydrogen’s energy storage capabilities work to solve this problem.
“Governor Newsom’s signing of SB 1350 is a landmark step toward securing California’s clean energy future,” said Janice Lin in a statement, founder and president of the Green Hydrogen Coalition. “This legislation gives utilities, developers and investors the confidence to move forward with the next generation of dispatchable clean power.”
With SB 1350 now signed into law, the bill will immediately work to “boost” power plant facilities like the Lodi Energy Center, located 15 miles north of Stockton, which plans to use green hydrogen in the near future, according to McNerney’s office.
The bill will also help planned facilities like Element Resources’ Lancaster Clean Energy Center, which is set to open in 2028 in Southern California and become the largest green hydrogen facility in the United States.
