Community & Economy
What geologic hydrogen could mean for California
Beyond the science, this work has a human side: skilled jobs, local opportunity, and a more secure supply of homegrown energy. We describe that potential plainly, and without overstating what an early-stage project can promise.
Workforce
What does this mean for local jobs?
Geologic hydrogen is explored and produced with the same core disciplines as geothermal energy. Drillers, engineers, and geologists can move into this work directly, because their skills transfer rather than having to be learned from the start.
That makes the field a natural fit both for experienced energy workers and for the next generation entering STEM careers, the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. We expect the work to call for skilled, well-paid roles as we progress this project.
You can see the disciplines this work draws on in our phased exploration approach.
Local economy
Local economic opportunity
Energy development creates value where it happens. For California communities, geologic hydrogen could mean opportunity that is felt close to home.
Income for landowners
Leasing mineral rights can turn idle acreage into a recurring income stream for the people who own the land.
Activity close to home
Exploration brings skilled work and local spending to areas that often sit far from traditional energy basins.
Energy near demand
Producing energy close to where it is used keeps more of its value in the region rather than importing it from elsewhere.
Landowners can learn how leasing works, and start a confidential conversation, on the landowners and leasing page.
Energy security
How does this support energy security?
California imports about a quarter of the electricity it uses from outside the state, which leaves it exposed to distant supply and price shocks, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Geologic hydrogen could be produced close to where power is needed, far from traditional oil and gas basins, and it can run as baseload power, the steady, around-the-clock electricity a grid depends on. That matters as the state takes on large new demands, including data centers that need reliable power day and night.
Domestic, low-carbon energy of this kind supports both security, the ability to meet demand without relying on far-off sources, and independence, the capacity to serve the country’s needs from its own ground.
These are potential benefits of an early-stage project, not guarantees. We will report on jobs, investment, and output with real figures as the work confirms them.
Talk with us
Are you a community leader or policymaker?
We are glad to walk local leaders, county and state officials, and community members through what the project could mean for the region.