Tag Archive for ‘SUGAR’

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Water conservationists of the year honored

Published on October 16, 2010 in General Ag News and Notes and Water.


PO’IPU — Damage from heavy rains and floods and the resulting repairs were the basis for the selection of this year’s Outstanding Water Conservationists by the Kaua‘i Soil and Water Conservation Districts.

Rodney and Karol Haraguchi, Hanalei Valley taro farmers, were selected as the East Kaua‘i SWCD honorees for their outstanding work in conservation and protection of the Hanalei Valley water resource, said Ted Inouye, representing the East Kaua‘i SWCD.

The presentation was made before the 49th annual Hawai‘i Water Works Association convention, Thursday, at the Grand Hyatt Kaua‘i Resort & Spa. Continue reading ‘Water conservationists of the year honored’

Maui Nei

Published on September 30, 2010 in General Ag News and Notes and Sugar Cane.


Everything about Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co. has its roots in past necessity. That became clear during a HC&S tour.

Weeds? Develop “bunch cane.” The kapakahi stalks grow every which way, denying any weed even a bit of sunlight. Destructive insects? Develop cane that resists the pests.

A shallow lens of fresh water on gallons of salty groundwater? Develop – in 1910 – a skimmer well so unique the U.S. Geological Survey refers to it as the “Maui Well.”

The 25-passenger van carried Rotarians from Kihei, members of the Court Stenographers and Captioners Association, a scribbler, corporate Community Relations Manager Linda Howe and Mae Nakahata, HC&S agronomist and Big Island girl who has called Maui home for 25 years. (E kala mai, Mae, for getting your home address wrong in last week’s column.)

After watching a double-snout machine harvest a seed field, the van ran down lumpy asphalt cane-haul roads to a field near the airport. Custom hydraulic cranes grabbed great mouthfuls of cane from windrows shoved together by bulldozers.

The Brobdingnagian claws sometimes drop abandoned vehicles into the 50-ton Tourna haulers. Nakahata said many of the unscheduled cane fires are the result of stolen cars being set ablaze. Continue reading ‘Maui Nei’

Mill, trains, machines at museum

Published on September 29, 2010 in General Ag News and Notes and Sugar Cane.


PUUNENE – The Alexander & Baldwin Sugar Museum is unveiling a new exhibit titled “Mills, Machinery and Locomotives” that will be on display through October.

The exhibit includes never-before-shown historic photos from inside the mill, as well as mill and foundry artifacts, and objects and photos from the Kahului Railroad. Artist Tom Sewell’s video piece, “Enigma of the Mill,” also will be presented, showing how mill operations can be rendered as art.

The museum is open daily, 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., at 3957 Hansen Road. For more information, call 871-8058 or www.sugarmuseum.com.

Mill, trains, machines at museum – Mauinews.com | News, Sports, Jobs, Visitor’s Information – The Maui News

Na Wai Eha: Streams flow again — along with controversy and conflict

Published on August 10, 2010 in General Ag News and Notes and Water.

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WAIHEE – At its mouth, the Waihee River was only around a foot deep Monday afternoon – but that was good news to Scott Fisher of the Maui Coastal Land Trust.

Fisher was monitoring conditions in the first hours after Wailuku Water Co. restored water to the river, carrying out the terms of an order by the state Commission on Water Resource Management in June that the company return 12.5 million gallons per day to two of the four streams that make up Na Wai Eha.

Fisher said the water in the river was at about the same level it would typically be during the rainy season, and it was noticeably colder than it would normally be on a mid-August day. The water restoration would almost certainly mean healthier plants and animals in Waihee River, he said.

Wailuku Water Co., which diverts the stream for users including Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co., had opened some of its diversion gates at Waiehu Stream on Monday as well.

Commission member Dr. Lawrence Miike, who oversaw the contested case hearing, originally recommended that half of Na Wai Eha’s water be returned to all four streams. But the other commissioners did not agree and no water was returned to the Iao and Waikapu streams below their diversion points, while less water than he recommended was returned to Waihee and Waiehu streams. Continue reading ‘Na Wai Eha: Streams flow again — along with controversy and conflict’

Hawaii sugar grower working to power Navy

Published on August 9, 2010 in Biofuels, General Ag News and Notes and Sugar Cane.


Navy fighter jets and ship could be powered by biofuels grown in Hawaii under an effort funded by the federal government.

The government is spending at least $10 million over five years on research and development at Maui cane fields for crops capable of fueling Navy fighter jets and ships. The project also may provide farmers in other warm climates with a model for harvesting biofuel crops.

Hawaii has become a key federal laboratory for biofuels because of its dependence on imported oil and its great weather for growing crops. It also has a large military presence.

The Office of Naval Research is funding the five-year program at Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar, a company dating to the 1870s that runs the last sugar plantation in the state.

Hawaii sugar grower working to power Navy – Hawaii News – Staradvertiser.com

Two companies to release Maui stream water as ordered by the state

Published on August 3, 2010 in General Ag News and Notes, Sugar Cane and Water.


The state says Wailuku Water Co. and Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co. will begin releasing water to Waihee River and North and South Waiehu Streams in central Maui next week.

The state Department of Land and Natural Resources says the companies next Monday will act to comply with a state water commission order issued in June.

But the move is unlikely to satisfy two Maui groups who want the companies to return more water than the commission ordered.

Hui o Na Wai Eha and Maui Tomorrow appealed the water commission’s ruling in state court last month.

They say they’re being deprived of the water they need to grow taro and restore natural habitat.

Two companies to release Maui stream water as ordered by the state – Hawaii News – Staradvertiser.com

Isle ethanol efforts stall

Published on June 27, 2010 in Biofuels and General Ag News and Notes.


two surviving ventures face high hurdles

Ask just about anyone involved in the effort to start a home-grown ethanol industry in Hawaii and invariably the word "challenging" comes up.

Challenging, it turns out, is an understatement.

Four years ago companies were lining up to build ethanol production facilities in Hawaii after the state launched a program that offered generous tax credits and set a mandate that most gasoline sold in the state must contain 10 percent of the renewable fuel. Soaring ethanol prices, which hit a record $4.23 a gallon in the summer of 2006, also spurred interest. On the mainland, dozens of corn-based ethanol plants sprouted up across the Great Plains.

In Hawaii, meanwhile, plans were moving forward to erect ethanol plants that would mostly use sugar cane or sugar cane byproducts as a feedstock. Before any of the companies could get their permits approved, however, the price of ethanol collapsed, falling as low as $1.40 a gallon in late 2008. In addition to falling prices, difficulty in securing land to grow feedstocks and dwindling investor interest have made it difficult to get any new processing facilities up and running.

There were plans in recent years to build at least six plants in Hawaii to produce ethanol, an alcohol-based renewable fuel that can be made from a variety of organic materials, including sugar cane. Of the original six that were planned, only two are still on the books, and neither has a target date to begin construction.

Continue reading ‘Isle ethanol efforts stall’

10 answer HECO’s call for biofuel

Published on June 24, 2010 in Biofuels, General Ag News and Notes, Sugar Cane and Sustainability.


Local production is the key to gradually moving the state away from imported fuel

By Alan Yonan Jr.

The state’s quest for energy independence took a step forward with Hawaiian Electric Co. receiving bids from 10 companies seeking to supply the utility with biofuel produced locally to burn in its power plants.

    There are a number of potential biofuel feedstocks that can be produced in Hawaii, including:
      » Sugar cane
      » Sorghum
      » Jatropha
      » Eucalyptus
      » Invasive trees
      » Algae
      » Microbes
      » Yeast
      » Waste products

HECO said it would begin buying the renewable fuel over the next five years, starting with small amounts and gradually expanding its intake as the fledgling biofuel industry matures in Hawaii.

"We are pleased with the strong response," said HECO spokesman Peter Rosegg.

The deadline for companies to submit bids was Friday, and HECO is now evaluating the proposals. The names of the companies will not be made public until the winning bid or bids are announced.

Continue reading ‘10 answer HECO’s call for biofuel’

Thielen: Need to be efficient in finding new water sources – The Maui News

Published on June 13, 2010 in General Ag News and Notes, Sugar Cane and Water.

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State Commission on Water Resource Management Director Laura Thielen defended last week’s decision by the water panel to order 12.5 million gallons of water per day – now diverted by ditches for sugar cane irrigation and other uses – back into West Maui Mountain streams.

She said the commission established groundbreaking requirements for water conservation and called for the development of alternative water sources to streams for users.

"It was a very hard decision to make," said Thielen, who heads the state Department of Land and Natural Resources. "It’s not like it was a mathematical equation where there is one right answer. It was somewhat subjective. Maybe no one is 100 percent happy with the decisions, but to me, the important thing is we made the tough decisions."

The commission’s order Thursday to restore 12.5 million gallons to the streams – which will likely be appealed to Hawaii courts – amounted to about a third of the amount proposed by contested hearing officer and commissioner Dr. Lawrence Miike. The environmental and Native Hawaiian groups that had been hoping for more water to be restored called the decision a miscarriage of justice.

[callout]"The fact is we don’t have enough water, and there needs to be better investment in making systems more efficient and finding new water sources," Thielen said.[/callout] "I just felt it was important to make the hard decisions."

The majority members of the commission are forcing people to address the limits on Maui’s water resources, she said, adding that she hopes the panel’s action will inspire more responsible water resource management at the local level. It is time to move on to the tougher, more expensive water sources, such as digging wells and repairing leaks, she said.

Continue reading ‘Thielen: Need to be efficient in finding new water sources – The Maui News’

Na Wai Eha: Decision in but dispute lingers (2 of 2) – The Maui News

Published on June 13, 2010 in General Ag News and Notes, Sugar Cane and Water.

 

WAIKAPU -Taro farmers and environmentalists said Friday that they would appeal a decision by the state Commission on Water Resource Management that ordered just a fraction of the water they hoped to see restored to the Na Wai Eha streams.

Earthjustice attorney Isaac Moriwake, who represented the groups that petitioned for greater stream flow, said legal precedent, the state water code and the Hawaii Constitution were on their side. He said he hoped the 6-year-old case would be resolved in their favor within another two to three years.

"The bottom line is we waited six years to get to this point, and I guarantee it will not take that long to get this resolved in the court system," Moriwake said. "If the law means anything, the court will find that the commission did not follow its public trust responsibilities in this case."

The water commission on Thursday ordered that a minimum of 12.5 million gallons of water per day be allowed to flow in Na Wai Eha streams, about a third of the amount that had been proposed. The decision restored water to only two of the four streams – 10 mgd to the Waihee River, and 2.5 mgd for the Waiehu Stream. Diversions at the remaining Iao and Waikapu streams would remain at existing levels.

Continue reading ‘Na Wai Eha: Decision in but dispute lingers (2 of 2) – The Maui News’

Attorney: Water commission ‘wilted’ – The Maui News

Published on June 11, 2010 in General Ag News and Notes and Water.

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Panel: Decision strikes a balance between values, responsibilities

By ILIMA LOOMIS, Staff Writer

The state Commission on Water Resource Management on Thursday ordered 12.5 million gallons of water per day be allowed to flow in the Na Wai Eha streams in the West Maui Mountains, about one-third of the amount that had been proposed.

The commission majority said the decision represented a balance between the values and responsibilities the law required them to consider. Chairwoman Laura Thielen said in a statement that even if 100 percent of the water were diverted, it would still not be enough to meet demands.

But contested hearings officer Lawrence Miike, also a commission member, issued a scathing dissenting opinion that accused the water panel’s majority of protecting the interests of private corporations over the public streams.

"By its decision, the majority has failed in its duties under the constitution and the state water code as trustee of the state’s public water resource," Miike wrote.

Continue reading ‘Attorney: Water commission ‘wilted’ – The Maui News’

HC&S hires industrial processing plant expert – The Maui News

Published on June 6, 2010 in Biofuels and General Ag News and Notes.

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HONOLULU (AP) – Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co. has hired Anna Skrobecki to be the company’s senior vice president for factory and power plant operations. HC&S General Manager Christopher Benjamin said in a statement that Skrobecki has extensive experience in industrial processing plants.

Benjamin said this will help the sugar plantation as it researches alternative processing methods for biofuels.

The Navy and U.S. Department of Energy earlier this year announced they would spend several million dollars researching biofuel production at HC&S’ sugar cane fields on Maui. Skrobecki most recently was operations vice president at Wausau Paper in Wisconsin.

She also worked for Weyerhaeuser and James River Corp.

HC&S hires industrial processing plant expert – Mauinews.com | News, Sports, Jobs, Visitor’s Information – The Maui News

Exxon $600 Million Algae Investment Makes Khosla See Pipe Dream – Bloomberg.com

Published on June 3, 2010 in Biofuels, General Ag News and Notes and Sugar Cane.

Bloomberg

June 3 (Bloomberg) — Inside an industrial warehouse in South San Francisco, California, Harrison Dillon, chief technology officer of startup Solazyme Inc., examines a beaker filled with a brown paste made of sugar cane waste. While the smell brings to mind molasses, this goo, called bagasse, won’t find its way into people-pleasing confections.

Instead, scientists will empty it into 5-gallon metal flasks of algae and water. The algae will gorge on the treat — filling themselves with fatty oils as they double in size every six hours, Bloomberg Markets magazine reports in its July issue.

Down the hall, past a rainbow of algae strains arrayed in Petri dishes, Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Wolfson shows off a gallon-size bottle of slightly viscous liquid. After drying the algae, wringing out the oil and shipping it to a refinery, this is the prize: diesel fuel that Wolfson says is chemically indistinguishable from its petroleum-based equivalent and which has already powered a Jeep Liberty and a Mercedes Benz sedan.

“We’ve produced tens of thousands of gallons, and by the end of 2010, I hope I can say we’ve produced hundreds of thousands,” Wolfson, 39, says. “In the next two years, we should get the cost down to the $60 to $80-a-barrel range.”

At that price, Solazyme’s algae fuel would compete with $80-a-barrel oil.

Continue reading ‘Exxon $600 Million Algae Investment Makes Khosla See Pipe Dream – Bloomberg.com’

Compromise decision reached on East Maui water diversion – The Maui News

Published on May 26, 2010 in General Ag News and Notes and Water.

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PAIA — State Commission on Water Resource Management members reached a historic compromise late Tuesday night, returning some water to six East Maui streams, but leaving both sides in the water dispute dissatisfied.

Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar General Manager Chris Benjamin called it "another bite from the apple," noting that the commission’s action came in addition to losing millions of gallons a day in eight other streams in a commission decision two years ago. HC&S also is awaiting a contested case ruling that could mean that Hawaii’s last sugar producer will lose another 34.5 million gallons a day in the Central Maui Na Wai Eha, or four great streams, debate.

The complainants’ attorney, Alan Murakami, of Native Hawaiian Legal Corp., immediately called for — and had recognized — a contested case hearing request the moment the proceedings ended. That means the plaintiffs will seek binding arbitration for another, more favorable result.

The commission voted to restore water to four streams only in the wet season, Waikamoi, West and East Wailuaiki and Waiohue, with 1.68 million gallons per day, 2.46 mgd, 2.39 mdg and 2.07 mdg, respectively. In the dry season, West and East Wailuaiki and Waiohue will get 0.26 mgd, 0.13 mgd and 0.06 mgd, respectively.

Continue reading ‘Compromise decision reached on East Maui water diversion – The Maui News’

Stream study pushes for more water restoration – The Maui News

Published on May 24, 2010 in General Ag News and Notes and Sugar Cane.

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Sugar on Maui FOREVER!!!
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WAILUKU – Nearly six months after recommending that Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co. restore water to only one of 19 streams in East Maui, staffers for the state Commission on Water Resource Management have changed their minds – at the direction of balance-seeking commissioners in the heated controversy.

If commissioners follow the advice signed off by Deputy Director Ken Kawahara, HC&S will have to return water to a total of 14 of 27 streams in the East Maui watershed. Kawahara’s 64-page staff report advocates that six streams get some of their water back, totaling 10.46 million gallons a day.

The report was issued in time for a meeting at 1 p.m. Tuesday at the Paia Community Center, where a number of decisions could be made. It’s a continuation of a meeting held in December when commissioners asked the staff and different sides to come back with more information and new compromises.

Since the public will be given an opportunity to testify and all the sides are asked to give presentations about their own recommendations, two additional meetings are scheduled for June 16 and June 21. The last meetings drew more than 100 speakers a day.

Continue reading ‘Stream study pushes for more water restoration – The Maui News’

Water panel to take up East Maui stream petition – The Maui News

Published on May 20, 2010 in General Ag News and Notes, Sugar Cane and Water.

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PAIA – The state Commission on Water Resource Management will take up a petition next week to set new instream-flow standards for 16 East Maui streams.

The panel will meet at 1 p.m. Tuesday at the Paia Community Center, where it could render a final decision in the ongoing dispute over East Maui stream water, much of it now diverted by ditches to irrigate Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co. fields in Central Maui.

The meeting will continue hearings held in December to determine how much water the sugar plantation and Maui County can continue to take from the East Maui watershed. The county Department of Water Supply takes the water for domestic use by residents.

Decisions that come out of the meeting could have long-lasting impacts on all the parties involved. Previously, commissioners had asked the sides to come up with compromises to share the surface water resource, such as fixing leaky ditches and restoring water to streams in the rainy winter months.

The agenda for Tuesday’s meeting sets aside time for presentations from the state water commission staff, the Nahiku Community Association, Native Hawaiian Legal Corp., HC&S and county Department of Water Supply.

The commission, which is part of the Department of Land and Natural Resources, also will accept public testimony. If there is not time on Tuesday to make a final decision, the commission is tentatively scheduled to reconvene on June 16 and July 21, according to the agenda released Wednesday.

The long-fought battle over East Maui’s stream water has pitted environmentalists and Native Hawaiian taro farmers against HC&S, Maui County and Upcountry farmers and ranchers.

The water commission has already required HC&S to partially restore millions of gallons a day to several streams on the western half of the East Maui watershed.

With Maui still in a 3-year-old drought, HC&S has said that further claims on available surface water would hurt the company and jeopardize more than 800 agricultural jobs.

Water panel to take up E. Maui stream petition – Mauinews.com | News, Sports, Jobs, Visitor’s Information – The Maui News

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