Excerpted from the Rotary Club of Bakersfield “The Spoke” Publication

April 19, 2012 Meeting

Ed Western took to the podium and introduced our guest speaker, Jim Croyle.

Jim, CEO of SCS Energy, the parent company of Hydrogen Energy of California (HECA), educated us about the hydrogen project located two miles north of Tupman. Jim explained that hydrogen energy will transform yesterday’s power plant into tomorrow’s polygeneration complex. This project will provide solutions to the world’s future needs for low carbon power, clean hydrogen gas and cleaner and more efficient manufacturing of agricultural and industrial products. In addition, Jim explained how

this innovation in hydrogen energy will help produce new transportation fuels and increase domestic oil production. HECA’s facility in Tupman will convert coal and petroleum coke to hydrogen to generate electricity, manufacture fertilizer and capture

carbon dioxide to expand the recovery of crude oil that remains in California’s oil basins. HECA’s process preserves fresh water for agriculture, while utilizing non-potable water in its production process.

The main benefits of the HECA project are:

it will add an estimated 2500 new jobs to our county

it will bring over $2 billion of economic activity to our area

it will produce millions of dollars in sales and property tax revenue

it will provide low-carbon electricity to about 150,000 homes

Jim fielded a few questions from our club members, and President Tracy brought our meeting to a close at 1:19 PM.