Owen Sound Joins Bid for North America’s First Hydrogen Peaker Plant
Owen Sound council has endorsed Public Energy Inc.’s bid to build a hydrogen peaker plant on 20th Street East. The city is one of several locations under consideration.
Owen Sound City Council has thrown its support behind a proposal for what could be North America’s first fully hydrogen-powered peaker plant.
At its September 22 meeting, council passed a resolution requested by Public Energy Inc. to satisfy the requirements of Ontario’s Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO). Without municipal backing, the project can’t move forward in the IESO’s current round of long-term capacity bids.
The proposed plant would be built on 20th Street East, on a vacant industrial lot beside Hydrogen Optimized — a local company already developing electrolyzer technology. The idea is to use surplus grid power overnight to generate clean hydrogen, store it on-site, and feed it into hydrogen-burning turbines when demand peaks.
If selected, the project could bring about 400 construction jobs and 20 permanent operating positions. No municipal money or land is being offered, and the project would still have to clear Owen Sound’s usual planning and development approvals.
“This would potentially be a first-of-its-kind project for North America,” said Rebecca Ellerdiem, Owen Sound’s Senior Advisor of External Relations and Investment Attraction.
Other Communities in the Running
Owen Sound is not the only site under consideration. Public Energy Inc. is advancing multiple proposals to the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) as part of its long-term capacity bid.
In Kincardine, the company has been in discussions about a hydrogen peaker plant at the Bruce Energy Centre.
In Loyalist Township, it has signaled interest in converting the former Kingston Generation Station into a hydrogen-fueled facility — which Frequency News reports could be positioned as North America’s first hydrogen peaker plant.
Owen Sound’s support resolution keeps the city in the running, but final decisions rest with IESO and with Public Energy’s project team.
Who Is Public Energy Inc.?
The company behind the Owen Sound proposal, Public Energy Inc., is a privately held independent power producer based in Toronto. It specializes in on-site energy generation and storage for large industrial and commercial clients (not households or small businesses).
The firm develops and operates distributed generation assets, ranging from natural gas and combined heat-and-power systems to battery storage, solar, and now hydrogen projects.
Licensed by the Ontario Energy Board as both a retailer and a generator, Public Energy typically sells long-term, fixed-price power contracts to help clients reduce grid dependency, cut costs, and meet decarbonization targets.
On its own website, the company markets hydrogen projects as opportunities for municipalities to strengthen “community resilience” and attract investment, promising hundreds of construction jobs, 20–30 permanent positions, and as much as $400 million in local spending.
Most of its current proposals involve natural gas or renewable natural gas facilities that are “hydrogen-ready,” making the Owen Sound bid—focused on a fully hydrogen-powered turbine—one of its most ambitious clean energy ventures to date.
Public Energy is advancing the Owen Sound project under its hydrogen-focused development platform, Current H₂.
Why Hydrogen, Why Now
Ontario’s long-term energy plan identifies hydrogen as a way to balance the grid, store renewable power, and replace fossil fuels in heavy industry. Provincial and federal programs are pushing hard to attract investment.
For Owen Sound, the proposal builds on a cluster of hydrogen expertise already in town. Hydrogen Optimized’s RuggedCell™ technology is manufactured locally, and Georgian College recently secured federal support to run an “Industry 5.0” innovation hub tied to clean energy.
Some councillors said this positions the city as a leader. “I think it’s an excellent project,” Coun. Suneet Kukreja said. “It’s in alignment with the strategic vision the City of Owen Sound has.”
Risks and Questions
Hydrogen may be clean at the point of use, but it comes with technical and financial challenges. Studies warn of the high flammability of hydrogen and the difficulty of detecting leaks, which can spread quickly and ignite more easily than natural gas.
Researchers note that hydrogen explosions can be more destructive than methane, under the right conditions.
Infrastructure is another hurdle. A report from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis cautions that existing methane pipelines and fittings may not be safe for hydrogen, as it can weaken metals and increase the risk of leaks. Building dedicated hydrogen infrastructure is costly, and regulators have urged caution.
Across North America, several large-scale hydrogen projects have been delayed or cancelled in the past year, including a proposed facility in Prince George, B.C. CBC reporting attributes those pauses to high electricity demand for electrolysis, lack of buyers, high costs, and concerns over safety and environmental impacts.
Next Steps
Public Energy Inc. will now take Owen Sound’s resolution into its formal submission to IESO, due later this year. If the bid is successful and Owen Sound is chosen as the plant location, construction could begin as early as 2028, with operations expected to commence by the end of that year.
The company has promised a public open house to share details and hear concerns from residents. City staff stressed that municipal approvals — including planning, zoning, and safety reviews — would apply in full if the project proceeds.
For now, Owen Sound has signalled its willingness to host a cutting-edge hydrogen facility. Whether that promise can be delivered safely and affordably will depend on regulators, industry, and the community in the months ahead.