Depoe Bay pursues state construction grant for hydrogen fuel-cell backup at City Hall

Depoe Bay city staff and project representatives on the grant team reviewed a draft application to the Oregon Department of Energy (ODOE) for construction funding to install a hydrogen fuel-cell backup power system at City Hall and a portable hydrogen generator for the community center.

The proposal uses rooftop solar (proposed ~10 kilowatts), a small wind turbine (proposed ~10 kilowatts), batteries and an electrolyzer to produce green hydrogen on site, compress and store it in tanks, and run a hydrogen fuel cell to power City Hall's emergency operations center. The project team described a containerized equipment layout that would house the electrolyzer, dryer, compressor, reverse-osmosis filtration for city water, piping, sensors and a control/inverter system.

Paul, the project presenter, said the design is modular: fixed fuel-cell units at City Hall (an 8-kilowatt fuel cell was described as sized to cover the building) and portable fuel-cell generator(s) intended for the community center. He described daisy-chaining smaller cart-mounted units (4-kilowatt units were discussed) and adding additional tanks as needed. "The explosive issue is not really an issue," Paul said of safety measures for on-site hydrogen storage, adding that sensors and venting strategies would be included.

Why it matters: the grant would translate an earlier planning grant into a construction project intended to provide a noiseless, fume-free backup source of power for emergency response and community resiliency. Team members said the system could also be used as a quiet power source for events and is intended to be scalable if the pilot succeeds.

Key details and timeline: the team described the planning grant deliverables (drawings and a report) and said the construction grant requires work to begin within 12 months of award and complete within roughly three years. The preliminary construction schedule presented ranged from 14 to 18 months after procurement; project staff said they would refine procurement lead times and stretch the schedule accordingly for the grant application.

Operations and maintenance: the application will include provisions for warranty documentation, remote telemetry/monitoring by manufacturers, and a local operations-and-maintenance (O&M) training plan. Project staff agreed to add a formal O&M checklist/manual and a training plan in the grant package so the city can demonstrate capacity to operate the system for at least five years.

Safety and storage: the team said hydrogen storage will be designed to meet applicable codes and that Paul had discussed the project with the fire chief. The containerized system will include sensors and ventilation; the presenter noted hydrogen's rapid dispersion as part of the safety case and that storage racks and NFPA standards will be factored into site design.

Cost and scope: the presenter supplied a preliminary figure for fixed components at about $687,100,000 and said that figure did not yet include the portable generator for the community center. Team members said they would refine equipment lists, include warranties and spec sheets required by the grant, and consider "supersizing" the electrolyzer and storage to maximize the request while avoiding numbers that appear inflated.

Community outreach and letters of support: the application will include evidence of community engagement (events such as the Emergency Power Solutions rally) and an equity/community benefits narrative. The team identified Central Lincoln PUD as a key letter of support and agreed to request additional support letters from regional legislators who attended earlier events. Kimberly, city staff and others said the city council would provide a written authorization letter at the next council meeting (the team cited the 16th) to document municipal approval in the application.

Next steps: project staff will finalize equipment specs and warranties, produce the O&M/training materials, collect letters of support (Central Lincoln PUD and others), secure the city-council authorization letter at the next meeting, and share a draft of the construction grant to the committee by the end of the week. The team also asked the vendor to provide a cost for a portable 8-kilowatt system with a specified number of tanks so the grant can propose a scalable portable solution.

Attribution and participant list: quotes and technical descriptions in this story come from the meeting transcript and the speakers listed in the submitted materials.