By Quinn O’Hara

On January 30th, the High Plains Resources group, or HPR, held a Town Hall meeting in Clay Center to inform surrounding communities of their plans to drill for hydrogen in the area.

The initial public perception of the event appears to be mixed but leaning positive.

Brad Fowles is the owner of Homestead Real Estate and owns and farms several plots of land around Clay County. He says he still has some lingering questions after attending the meeting:

Fowles says he would still currently allow HPR to look for hydrogen on his land despite the uncertainties. He hopes HPR will hold future information meetings as the situation develops.

Rael Bloom owns land north of Clay Center. She says she was impressed by the community turnout at the meeting:

Bloom says all of her questions were answered during the meeting. With the information she knows now, and if given the opportunity at this moment, Bloom says she would let HPR construct a hydrogen production well on her land.

Clay County Commissioner Jerry Mayo says that he is interested in seeing the potential repercussions of the proposed hydrogen operations:

Despite these and other concerns about the possible effects of large hydrogen transport trucks on county roads, he thinks the operations might bring beneficial dollars to the local economy. He also says it is up to the individual to decide if nitrogen production wells are something they want on their land.

Despite these concerns, the three say they had an overall positive experience at the meeting, and are looking forward to seeing how the situation develops.