{"id":47060,"date":"2025-05-19T14:02:12","date_gmt":"2025-05-19T21:02:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/?p=47060"},"modified":"2025-05-19T14:53:24","modified_gmt":"2025-05-19T21:53:24","slug":"many-on-navajo-nation-blindsided-by-hydrogen-pipeline-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/many-on-navajo-nation-blindsided-by-hydrogen-pipeline-change\/","title":{"rendered":"Many on Navajo Nation Blindsided by Hydrogen Pipeline Change"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n

Pipeline company touts helping the nation; letter writing campaign raises questions. Critic says, \u201cJust pipe the natural gas.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

This story<\/a> was originally published at Capital & Main<\/a>, a NMPBS partner.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
An abandoned oil well sits on a hillside on Tribal land near Farmington, New Mexico. Photo: Jerry Redfern.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

By Jerry Redfern, Capital & Main<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company at the center<\/strong> of a controversial green energy project connecting New Mexico and Arizona has changed plans for a key component: A much-debated pipeline that would have carried climate-friendly hydrogen will instead carry natural gas, and possibly a natural gas-hydrogen blend at a future date. Unlike hydrogen, natural gas, blended or not, contributes to climate warming both in its production and when it is burned for energy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pipeline is part of a much larger project by Tallgrass Energy Partners LP that would create a hydrogen economy<\/a> centered in Farmington in the northwest corner of New Mexico. Plans include hydrogen production, a massive hub to inject carbon deep underground, repurposing a mothballed coal-fired power plant as a hydrogen-fired power plant, and pipelines connecting the various parts. The plans also included one pipeline to carry hydrogen across the Navajo Nation to markets in Arizona and farther afield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tallgrass decided to change what would be delivered in the pipeline earlier this year, and the news surprised many. Starting in 2021, the company, working through its subsidiary GreenView, carried out a public relations campaign along the proposed pipeline route through the Navajo Nation, hyping the green benefits of hydrogen<\/a>. Switching to natural gas or a gas-hydrogen blend would dramatically reduce or eliminate those benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tallgrass and GreenView also negotiated directly with the top level of the Navajo government about the project, most recently Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren. But when asked about the change to natural gas, Bidtah Becker, chief legal counsel for the president\u2019s office, said, \u201cIt clearly was a decision that had been made long before we were informed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Common methods of producing hydrogen use natural gas as a feedstock, creating large quantities of climate-warming carbon dioxide.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Many embraced the project in a region that has seen declining oil and gas production and associated revenues from the surrounding San Juan Basin, as well as the closure of a large coal-fired power plant and its mine. The project also drew sharp skepticism on and off the Navajo Nation, where more than a century<\/a> of industrial mineral extraction and production has failed to produce widespread economic benefits to residents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unlike fossil fuels, many see hydrogen as a miracle fuel. It produces only water vapor as a byproduct when run through an electrolyzer to make electricity and it produces no climate-warming carbon dioxide when burned, though it does emit other noxious air pollutants<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, common methods of producing hydrogen use natural gas as a feedstock, creating large quantities of climate-warming carbon dioxide that need to be permanently buried underground \u2014 which is difficult, expensive and often unsuccessful<\/a> \u2014 if the fuel is to be considered climate friendly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Steven Davidson, vice president of government and public affairs at Tallgrass, said the change \u201cdoes not indicate a departure from our commitment to clean hydrogen production and [carbon dioxide] sequestration. Instead, we are strategically positioning the project to meet both current and future energy demands.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The change would make a pipeline capable of carrying natural gas and a blend of natural gas and hydrogen in the future, Davidson said: \u201cIn short, definitely no deviation from our focus on clean hydrogen as a decarbonization solution.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That solution includes working with the Navajo Nation, he added. \u201cWe have invested four years of our time and resources in true partnerships to invest with the Navajo people,\u201d he said. \u201cWe are a group of one in that respect.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joe Romm, a senior research fellow at the University of Pennsylvania\u2019s Penn Center for Science, Sustainability and the Media and a former acting assistant secretary for energy efficiency and renewable energy at the U.S. Department of Energy, is doubtful about the project\u2019s overall prospects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn the real world, you don\u2019t see [projects] like this happen a lot, something so complicated,\u201d he said. So big hydrogen projects are the result of \u201cpowerful backers. And the most powerful is the oil and gas industry.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The complication starts with transporting blended gas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBlending doesn\u2019t make a lot of sense. You can\u2019t blend a lot\u201d because the chemical nature of hydrogen \u201cwill basically tunnel through and destroy normal steel and a lot of other things,\u201d Romm said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By comparison, long-distance natural gas pipelines have been around for decades (though they aren\u2019t risk-free<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cYou can\u2019t find a successful major carbon capture and storage [project].\u201d ~ Joe Romm, Penn Center for Science, Sustainability and the Media<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Then there is the basic math of the most common method of making hydrogen from natural gas: steam methane reformation. According to researchers at Texas A&M University, it requires<\/a> 3.16 kilograms of natural gas and another 9.74 kilograms of water to make a single kilogram of hydrogen. That process also creates 8.47 kilograms of climate-warming carbon dioxide. The formula doesn\u2019t include the fuel needed to power the process or the energy needed to sequester the carbon dioxide to keep the hydrogen\u2019s green credentials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That carbon sequestration hub would be another sticking point because carbon capture projects are hard. \u201cYou can\u2019t find a successful major carbon capture and storage [project],\u201d Romm said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Furthermore, natural gas production itself is an inherently leaky process<\/a>, and the methane in the gas is 80 times<\/a> more effective at trapping heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With all of these complications inherent in hydrogen production and transport, Romm said, \u201cJust pipe the natural gas.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pipeline change came at roughly the same time that a member of the Arizona Corporation Commission asked<\/a> the commission to study building more natural gas pipelines and storage facilities for the state. Among other duties, the commission oversees pipeline safety and power utilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nick Myers, the Arizona commission vice chair, said he hadn\u2019t heard of the GreenView pipeline project when he asked the commission to study such projects. \u201cTo the extent I may have been informed, but don\u2019t remember, it was only in passing,\u201d he said. \u201cI would love to talk to someone just to be in the loop.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tallgrass\u2019 Davidson said, \u201cWe were not involved in the [commission\u2019s] decision.\u201d But, he added, \u201cIt\u2019s not surprising,\u201d considering that AI data centers alone are projected<\/a> to consume up to 16.5% of the state\u2019s power grid by 2030.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNone of the [other] pipelines that are proposed to be built into Arizona, to the best of our knowledge, provide any value to the Navajo Nation,\u201d Davidson added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So far, Myers\u2019 February memo to the commission has prompted 17 letters<\/a> on possible new natural gas infrastructure in Arizona. All but two were in favor, and six specifically mentioned the GreenView natural gas pipeline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of those letters<\/a> was co-authored by New Mexico state Rep. Meredith Dixon (D-Albuquerque), who promoted and regularly voted<\/a> in favor of fossil-fuel-friendly legislation during the state\u2019s two-month legislative session earlier this year. She also cosponsored legislation<\/a> that set up a framework for the state to manage carbon sequestration projects such as the planned CarbonSAFE hub<\/a> in northwest New Mexico that\u2019s part of Tallgrass\u2019 overarching hydrogen project. (Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed the bill into law on April 7.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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For the past few years, grid-scale solar and wind energy have been cheaper to install than any fossil fuel.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Dixon\u2019s co-author of both the letter and the legislation was state Sen. William Sharer (R-Farmington), the Senate minority floor leader and a longtime champion of oil and natural gas production. His district covers a large portion of the San Juan Basin in northwest New Mexico. Among the perceived benefits, the legislators championed the natural gas pipeline as \u201ca unique opportunity to uplift the Navajo Nation,\u201d despite the fact that oil and gas have been produced for more than 100 years<\/a> on the economically challenged reservation. The letter doesn\u2019t note them talking with anyone from the Nation, either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In an email, Dixon said, \u201cEven as [Sharer] and I disagree on some principles, we agree on the important role of carbon storage.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dixon didn\u2019t say how she heard about the GreenView pipeline change, apparently before many on the Navajo Nation did. But she did offer reasons for supporting it: the argument of natural gas as a so-called \u201cbridge fuel\u201d (which is often<\/a>\u2013debunked<\/a>); national and international security risks in light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine (which are debatable<\/a>); and the real lack of other readily available power sources for energy-intensive manufacturing processes and transport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Groups ranging from the United Nations\u2019 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change<\/a> to the Rocky Mountain Institute<\/a> support using hydrogen in energy-intensive industrial processes and heavy transport \u2014 but not elsewhere. That\u2019s because for the past few years, grid-scale solar and wind energy have been cheaper<\/a> to install than any fossil fuel. In fact, solar projects<\/a> are growing across the Navajo Nation as part of a federal program to electrify Native lands. And the Environment America Research & Policy Center ranked<\/a> New Mexico fourth in its top 10 list of states for renewable energy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy letter is intended to highlight potential opportunities created by this project,\u201d Dixon said. \u201cI fully expect Tallgrass to engage with all affected tribal and non-tribal communities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Three more letters<\/a> that share similar structure and language and came from businesses on or near the Mexican border may be the work of LS2group<\/a>, which calls itself \u201ca bipartisan public relations, government affairs, public affairs, and marketing firm.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Josh Rubin, the vice president of a cross-border manufacturing facilitator in Nogales, Arizona, 300 miles from the pipeline, told Capital & Main that a friend at LS2group<\/a> asked him to send the letter, though he wasn\u2019t overly familiar with the project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A second letter, signed by a Holly Jensen claiming to own a Groovy Hues painting franchise in Tucson, couldn\u2019t be verified. Neither name is affiliated with a registered business in Tucson, though there is a Groovy Hues 113 miles away in Phoenix, registered to a different person. And a call center operator for Groovy Hues said the company doesn\u2019t do business in Tucson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A third letter writer, Michael Sene, who runs a truck repair shop on the border, didn\u2019t respond to a call and message from Capital & Main.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

LS2group also did not return calls from Capital & Main.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jessica Keetso (Din\u00e9) is deeply familiar with the GreenView project. For three years as an outreach coordinator for the Native group T\u00f3 Nizh\u00f3n\u00ed \u00c1n\u00ed, or Sacred Water Speaks, she led an educational campaign opposing the hydrogen pipeline. (She recently left the group to attend law school.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even so, she first heard about the change from hydrogen to natural gas from Capital & Main, though she suspected something was in the works. \u201cWe knew something was happening because of how little presence Tallgrass had in the community\u201d in recent months, she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think the Nation was always uncertain about the market for hydrogen,\u201d she added. As for the pipeline change, \u201cI think it\u2019s really going to push the Navajo Nation for more benefits.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keetso said tribal agencies had already devoted a lot of time and energy working on the initial GreenView proposal, and changing the fuel could restart the whole process. She said that when she asked regulatory agencies on the Navajo Nation what would be required for changing the long-debated hydrogen pipeline to natural gas, they hadn\u2019t heard of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPeople freaked out,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This story was originally published at Capital & Main<\/a>, a NMPBS partner.<\/em> Copyright 2025 Capital & Main<\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pipeline company touts helping the nation; letter writing campaign raises questions. Critic says, \u201cJust pipe the natural gas.\u201d This story was originally published at Capital & Main, a NMPBS partner. By Jerry Redfern, Capital & Main The company at the center of a controversial green energy project connecting New Mexico and Arizona has changed plans…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":47063,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10906],"tags":[10907],"class_list":["post-47060","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-partner-stories","tag-partner-stories"],"yoast_head":"\nMany on Navajo Nation Blindsided by Hydrogen Pipeline Change - New Mexico In Focus<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/many-on-navajo-nation-blindsided-by-hydrogen-pipeline-change\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Many on Navajo Nation Blindsided by Hydrogen Pipeline Change - New Mexico In Focus\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Pipeline company touts helping the nation; letter writing campaign raises questions. 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