Would Orange Cove City Council oppose SoCalGas Hydrogen Blending pilot project?
Orange Cove community residents don’t want the Southern California Gas Company hydrogen blending demonstration project in their city, and they hope the City Council sides with them.
The City Council will vote Wednesday evening to consider a resolution opposing the pilot project coming to Orange Cove, an agricultural community along the eastern foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in Fresno County.
According to the city’s agenda item, staff recommendation is for the city to oppose the SoCalGas pilot project by adopting a resolution after “overwhelming community concerns and resident petitions.”
The resolution, if adopted, would be sent to SoCalGas and the California Public Utilities Commission as proof of “the city’s non-support“ of the controversial clean-energy project.
In 2024, the city council supported the proposal after SoCal Gas announced it has chosen the city as the site for the project. A resolution was passed for city staff to work on its development with the SoCalGas.
The final approval by the state public utilities commission on the project’s future is expected this month.
Residents submitted a petition in April urging the City Council to oppose the pilot project, which would put hydrogen-blended gas into every home, school and business in Orange Cove without community consent.
The group Orange Cove United delivered a binder to the City Council at its April 22 meeting with more than 650 signatures from residents who are against the experimental project, which was first proposed in late 2023. The city, which is 94% Latino, has a population of 9,649 according to the 2020 census.
The group has voiced its strong opposition to the project for more than a year.
The City Council will meet at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at the city’s Cove Senior Center, 699 Sixth St.
This story was originally published June 23, 2026 at 2:44 PM with the headline "Would Orange Cove City Council oppose SoCalGas Hydrogen Blending pilot project?."
