Plug Power announced it would be suspending activities related to the U.S. Department of Energy’s loan which was to assist with financing the construction of up to six hydrogen facility projects, including one in Young County.
Plug Power provides electrolyzers, liquid hydrogen, fuel cell systems, storage tanks and fueling infrastructure to industries such as material handling, industrial applications and energy producers.
Project Limestone in Young County was proposed to be a hydrogen production facility located along FM 209 on a 40-acre site that would produce 45 tons per day of hydrogen from water using renewable energy sources.
The Young County facility was set to be the first project to benefit from financing from the DOE’s Loan Programs Office (LPO). The company submitted its application to the LOP in November 2020.
The DOE announced the closing of the federal loan guarantee Thursday, Jan. 16 to Plug Power Inc.’s subsidiary, Plug Power Energy Loan Borrower. The company announced in a release Monday, Nov. 10 that they were suspending those projects under the loan.
“Plug will suspend activities related to the Department of Energy loan program and reallocate capital toward higher-return opportunities across its hydrogen network,” the release states. “The company’s recently executed hydrogen supply agreement with a global industrial gas leader provides competitively priced, long-term hydrogen supply—reducing the near-term need for self-developed hydrogen.”
In March 2022, the Young County Commissioners Court approved the creation of a reinvestment zone and tax abatement regarding the Plug Power hydrogen facility.
The approved reinvestment zone was for 7,226.22 acres, including the 40-acre planned facility property and around 14 miles of right-of-way for transmission lines. The county was set to receive $2,934,073.97 through Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) payments under the 70% tax abatement.
Plug Power had an agreement with Apex Clean Energy that continued with NextEra Energy, the company over the Young County wind farm project. Under the agreement, Plug would purchase 345 MW from the 550 MW wind farm, with excess power being sold into the ERCOT power grid.
Plug Power signed a non-binding letter of intent to monetize its electricity rights in New York and one other undisclosed location and collaborate with a data center developer.
In February 2025, Young County Judge Win Graham connected the company Stream Data Centers with representatives of Plug Power to explore potential partnership opportunities between the two companies.
Stream Data Centers is pursuing a data center project in Young County between FM 209 and FM 61.
The Graham City Council entered into executive session Thursday, Nov. 20 with the city’s attorneys to discuss the legal ramifications of Plug Power’s decision to suspend the build of the hydrogen generation plant.
“The city council will issue further information on this issue, upon the advice of the city’s attorney,” City Manager Eric Garretty said.
Following the executive session, no action was taken, but a statement was provided by the city manager at the beginning of the meeting regarding the decision from Plug Power.
Garretty announced Thursday the company was suspending their build of the project in Young County and pursuing an alternative program in partnership with a data center.
The city manager said the city was provided no prior notice of suspension of the project or the company’s new direction.
“I want to emphasize that the city of Graham received no advance notification that Plug Power was suspending construction of the plant and no advance notification… that they were working with multiple data centers,” Garretty said.
Through reimbursements to the city of Graham, Plug Power is funding a reclaimed water line from the city’s wastewater treatment plant to flow to their proposed hydrogen plant.
The city council authorized the city manager in September 2023 to negotiate and conclude a contract for construction of the water line with Acadia Services, LLC in an amount not to exceed $6,150,000 based on a recommendation from the city’s contracted engineering firm Kimley-Horn.
On the same day the statement was released from Plug Power regarding the suspension, the city manager issued a formal stop work order for all vendors working on the water reuse line and pump station project connected to Project Limestone.
“This stop work order was necessary because the city requires minimally functional facilities at the site of the proposed hydrogen generation plant to continue operational testing and maintenance of the water line and pump station,” Garretty said.
Garretty said a Plug Power representative informed him that the company intended to honor their financial obligations on the agreement with the city regarding the water line between the project and the city’s wastewater treatment facility.
“At such time as desired, Plug Power is happy to facilitate further conversations with all parties considering the potential alternative program with the data center. In the interim, Plug Power is available to discuss any of these topics further at your convenience,” Plug Power said in a statement to the city.
The city manager said that the city was counting on Plug Power coming as a way to lower increasing sewer rates.
“If they were just to draw 350,000 gallons a day of the reclaimed water–the sewer water, the water that’s currently going down Salt Creek and not doing anything for anybody other than the fish–for just 200 days a year, assuming they weren’t operating 24/7, at 70 million gallons, that’s $157,500 in annual revenue. …We could have decreased that monthly payment to our rate payers by almost $3.50 and now that’s gone,” Garretty said.
The city manager said economic development projects such as the proposed hydrogen facility do have the potential to positively impact city residents.
“It’s not my job to decide on policy, but something I haven’t heard in all the conversations that are going on right now is that economic development can positively impact every citizen of Graham,” he said. “In this case, if this hydrogen plant would have happened and in this scenario, we could have reduced people’s monthly sewer bills. It would still go up, but it wouldn’t go up as much and now that’s gone.”
