Osceola County commissioners recently gave Panacea Global Energy, Inc. the go-ahead to develop a green energy technology park, with production facilities for hydrogen, solar panels and batteries, near the Poinciana SunRail station.
That’s the second location proposed by the private company, after fierce community opposition prompted Panacea to back down from its original chosen site: Osceola’s undeveloped, nearly 400-acre Mac Overstreet property on Pleasant Hill Road.
Local residents were upset about the company’s initial pursuit of Mac Overstreet, described by the county in 2015 as a “regional park” with a master plan for future recreational uses, like softball fields, playgrounds and a dog park.
But now that Mac Overstreet is out of the picture, community members like Debbie Rambis are still concerned.
“Of course, we're happy that they're not going to put it on the park property. However, what they're doing is just as bad,” Rambis said. “They really are placing these factories next to some of our most vulnerable populations.”
Rambis, one of the project’s most vocal opponents, said she’s concerned the proposed development could expose the densely-populated area to safety hazards, like an industrial accident.
Primarily, Rambis says she and other residents worry about the very first permitted use mentioned in Osceola County’s agreement with the company: “hydrogen production facilities powered with solar and battery.”
“Our very first opposition was against the hydrogen factory, and that's going in there,” Rambis said.
Hydrogen burns with an invisible flame and can ignite more easily than gasoline or natural gas, according to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. But the EERE also sayshydrogen is non-toxic and, in some ways, “safer to handle and use than the fuels commonly used today.”
“As more and more hydrogen demonstrations get underway, hydrogen's safety record can grow and build confidence that hydrogen can be as safe as the fuels in widespread use today,” according to the EERE.
The Biden administration is embracing and incentivizing the exploration of hydrogen as a cleaner energy alternative to traditional fossil fuels. Last year, U.S. officials unveiled a hydrogen tax credit plan, along with plans to divvy up $7 billion for seven new, regional clean hydrogen hubs, none of which will be in Florida.
But Panacea is working with the DOE in hopes of being accepted into two of those regional hydrogen hubs, CEO John Darling told WMFE in an email.
“It’s the mid Atlantic and mid west hubs we are hoping to join,” Darling wrote. “All the work we do with the US (government) will have a direct impact on highlighting the renewable energy technology we are bringing to Osceola county and its hard working community.”
Darling also told WMFE the project would not be dangerous, saying, “from a safety aspect our system is safer than a gasoline station pump.”
Although hydrogen itself does not emit carbon dioxide, the process of producing it usually still does, according to the National Resources Defense Council. Late last year, the Biden administration proposed a tiered system for its hydrogen tax credit program, to provide more credits for cleaner energy producers, versus those relying on fossil fuels.
Panacea’s future green energy park will also bring 1,200 new, high-wage jobs to Osceola County, according to the agreement approved on Feb. 5. Still, Rambis isn’t convinced.
“We obviously need those higher paying jobs. However, we need them in the right place: not next to people's homes, not next to schools,” Rambis said. “There are plenty of industrial areas within Osceola County.”
Panacea says it hopes to start building this summer and finish the project within three years.
Osceola County is inviting community members to discuss the Mac Overstreet property's future during a public meeting at Liberty High School on Tuesday, February 20 at 6pm.
