Construction of a green hydrogen plant is considered a public necessity

The following is a machine translation of an Arequipa Regional Government release

The promotion of private investment driven by the regional governor Rohel Sánchez Sánchez is bearing more and more fruit. At the recent Regional State Council, an agreement was reached that the construction of the green hydrogen plant be considered a "Public Need", so that the procedures for its installation are accelerated.

In the district of La Joya, a 4,000-hectare plot of land has been made available for the South African company Phelan Green Energy to install the first green hydrogen production plant in the country, with an investment of some 2.5 billion dollars, in addition to the creation of hundreds of jobs, with the consequent generation of clean energy.

Governor Sánchez explained the details of the construction and received the necessary support from the Executive, and the Ministry of Defense has already given its approval for the disposition of the land, with whom an agreement has been signed.

Green hydrogen will replace the use of fossil fuels, such as oil, and thus allow us to change the energy matrix and increase the quality of life of the population and the planet itself.

Irina Salazar Churata, manager of Science, Technology and Innovation of the Regional Government of Arequipa, indicated that this green hydrogen plant could not only supply energy to the people of Arequipa, but also for export and that would mean additional economic income for the execution of works.

What is green hydrogen and how does it work?

The Energy and Mines manager, Iván Prado, explained that the production of green hydrogen is obtained through the use of water or air, which makes it a clean, sustainable fuel with a zero pollution rate. It is renewable and can be compressed, and can be stored in tanks for a long time; therefore, it is transportable because it is a very light material.

“The production of green hydrogen is a valuable opportunity, because it will position Peru for the future, modernize the country's energy matrix to supply the domestic market and for export; in addition to the construction, installation and operation of renewable or conventional electric power generation; it will provide employment to local residents and will become one of the main economic activities in the Arequipa region,” added Dr. Sánchez.

Likewise, the Peruvian market and the Pacific coast can be supplied with quality products such as ammonia and low-density ammonium nitrate (ANFO grade) for mining. The production of ammonia in Arequipa, in addition to obtaining oxygen with more than 99% purity, generated as a by-product of the production of nitrates.