(KNSI) — St. Cloud’s wastewater treatment facility wants to be the first in the world to have green hydrogen production on-site and the first in Minnesota to use renewable natural gas for heating.

St. Cloud’s public works department has applied for a $1,095,000 grant from the Legislative Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources for the project. The total cost is estimated to be around $3,000,000. The rest of the money would come from the wastewater utility budget.

St. Cloud Public Services Director Tracy Hodel says the project will pay for itself.

“With these technologies it’s going to result in significant annual operation savings even just in one year. So, the payback is going to be extremely quick on this project due to the rising costs of natural gas and the unique nature of the green hydrogen.”

She says both projects are on the cutting edge when it comes to green energy.

“Hydrogen is the energy of the future and we’re excited to be the leaders in that innovative technology arena. Others can learn from us and that’s the whole point of that grant that we applied for is to put demonstration projects on site.”

Green Hydrogen works by splitting water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen with an “electrolyzer” using renewable energy. The hydrogen gas would be used to produce energy and the oxygen would be used in the wastewater treatment system. Hydrogen can also be converted to run vehicles.

Renewable natural gas is already being produced at the wastewater plant, but the city wants some equipment to refine the gas further so it can be used as heating fuel. All the natural gas produced right now is being used to make electricity. Any surplus energy would be sold to Xcel Energy.

If funding is approved, the project could be finished in the fall of 2023 or the spring of 2024.

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