SoCalGas on Thursday, Feb. 17 released details of its proposed “Angeles Link” project to create what the utility says would be the largest hydrogen energy infrastructure system in the United States.

The utility said the project — which was submitted to the California Public Utilities Commission on Thursday — could displace up to 3 million gallons of diesel fuel per day, eliminate up to 25,000 tons of smog-forming nitrogen oxide per year and provide the clean fuel to convert up to four natural gas power plants to green hydrogen.

“The challenges we face on climate require solutions of scale and urgency. The Angeles Link is designed to meet those challenges head-on,” said Scott Drury, CEO of SoCalGas.

“Today in Southern California we’re announcing plans for one of the world’s largest clean energy infrastructure systems, to help tackle emissions for which there are no easy answers. Those emissions — from power plants, industry, and heavy-duty trucks — very much ‘count’ and must be significantly reduced to reach our and the state’s climate goals,” Drury continued.

However, environmental protection activists with Food & Water Watch Los Angeles criticized SoCalGas for touting the project as “green,” responding that hydrogen requires 9 kg of water for every 1 kg of hydrogen produced, and the region is in the midst of a mega-drought that a UCLA study said Tuesday is the most extreme in at least 1,200 years. The group added that hydrogen development has the potential to perpetuate fossil fuel infrastructure.

“Californians are not blind to SoCalGas’ profiteering,” the group’s director Alexandra Nagy said. “Time and again SoCalGas has shown a willingness to destroy our climate and health while jacking up rates to make profit by any means necessary. We would be foolish to let SoCalGas sell us on schemes like green hydrogen that divert us from real energy solutions and hijack our water resources.”

Gov Gavin Newsom said he had just gotten word about the plan when he spoke at a media event in San Bernardino, but called it ” a step in the right direction” and added “we need to see more of it.”

Newsom said the state will be focusing on green hydrogen in the months ahead, especially when it comes to heavy industry.

The governor said the SoCalGas proposal would not change his mind on the need to close the Aliso Canyon natural gas facility in the San Fernando Valley, site of the nation’s largest-ever gas leak in 2015.

The storage facility near porter Ranch spewed more than 100,000 tons of methane and other chemicals into the air, resulting in the largest natural gas blowout in the nation’s history. The gas leak, which was first detected in October 2015 and lasted about four months, exposed residents to a host of chemicals, including benzene, which can cause cancer and harm to the reproductive system.

Since the blowout, neighbors, activists and elected officials have urged that the facility be shut down. However, the CPUC voted unanimously last year to ramp up the capacity of the Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility after SoCalGas said it needed the expansion to keep energy prices stable ahead of the winter months.

Newsom said the proposal will be in front of the California Public Utilities Commission on Tuesday and that he intended to study it in the meantime.

“We want to move forward on closing Aliso Canyon,” he said Thursday. “In fact, I’ve expressed frustration that it wasn’t happening fast enough. So I am hopeful that this will advance that effort.”

As proposed, SoCalGas’ hydrogen system would support the integration of solar and wind energy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from electricity, industrial processes, heavy-duty trucks and other hard-to-electrify sectors of the economy, according to SoCalGas.

The amount of green hydrogen delivered would be equal to about 25% of the natural gas that SoCalGas currently delivers, the utility said.

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The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power’s chief engineer and general manager, Marty Adams, welcomed the idea of a hydrogen energy system of this scale in Los Angeles, saying “affordable green hydrogen is key to achieving our clean energy future by 2035.”

The city of Los Angeles officially set a goal last year of powering the city entirely on renewable energy by 2035. The details on how to get the city to 100% renewable energy are still being developed.

Councilman John Lee said the Angeles Link proposal is the first he has seen that will make a substantial dent in the city’s need for natural gas without risking grid reliability.

“I support the goals of this proposal because it will help us get one step closer to achieving the city’s goal of 100% clean energy by 2035 without compromising reliability and hurting jobs,” he said.

SCNG staff contributed to this report.