Category: wind farm

March 27, 2011 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

The price of wind

With the launch of Oahu’s first commercially viable wind farm behind them, proponents of wind power will now try to replicate the feat on Lanai and Molokai, where larger-scale wind projects face far greater community opposition.

The first trickle of wind-generated electricity began flowing to the Hawaiian Electric Co. grid last week from 12 wind turbines at a 30-megawatt facility in Kahuku developed by Boston-based First Wind LLC. Gov. Neil Abercrombie, the First Wind CEO, the head of the Public Utilities Commission, Kahuku community leaders and even musician Jack Johnson gathered under a tent in the wind-swept foothills of the Koolau Mountains to celebrate the occasion.

Although the wind farm will provide just a small fraction of Oahu’s peak electricity demand, Abercrombie and others heralded the Kahuku project as an important step in Hawaii’s pursuit of energy independence.

To make wind a much bigger part of the electric grid in Hawaii, state officials and HECO are leading an effort to develop larger wind farms on Lanai and Molokai that would send electricity to Oahu via undersea cables. The proposal for 400 megawatts of generating capacity split between Lanai and Molokai, combined with wind and solar energy generated on Oahu could provide 25 percent of the island’s power needs

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March 23, 2011 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

Wind farm idea draws praise

WAILUKU – Maui planning commissioners Tuesday praised a proposed wind farm as a “wonderful, wonderful project” but raised doubts about getting the massive equipment to the remote location on the southwest flank of Haleakala between two sections of the Auwahi native plant restoration area.

The commission was commenting on a draft environmental impact statement for Sempra Energy’s proposed wind project at Ulupalakua.

Worries about losing the last highway ocean views to what Chairman Jonathan Starr called “pole land” also came up Tuesday. But the wind farm itself was warmly received, with Starr wishing only that it could be bigger than the 21 megawatts proposed.

Pardee Erdman, of Ulupalakua Ranch, which will lease nearly 1,500 acres to Sempra, called the project “a win-win for the ranch.” He said the infrastructure needed to transport heavy turbines and lengthy vanes will “make that land more productive than it is today,” although he added, “We are going to continue raising cattle.”

Maui Electric Co. has contracted to begin purchasing wind electricity from the project a year from now.

But developers still have to obtain many permits before they can proceed, including a special management area permit for parts of the project makai of the road to Kahikinui.

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February 20, 2011 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

Fast-growing plant threat to habitat of Lanai petrels

LANAIHALE – For decades, researchers thought the last major colony of Hawaiian petrels in the islands nested on the slopes of Haleakala.

Then about a decade ago, wildlife biologist Fern Duvall was working on Lanai when he noticed a petrel burrow. He kept the discovery in the back of his mind for six years, until he was able to return to the island to follow up.

“We just went to see if we could detect any birds at all,” Duvall said. “It turned out that not only could we find birds – there were thousands of them. We think it’s the second-largest known concentration of Hawaiian petrels.”

Duvall suspects that the birds have thrived on the slopes of Lanaihale – Lanai’s only large mountain – because the island has so little development and few urban lights.

The night-flying birds depend on starlight to navigate and often become disoriented and crash in urbanized areas.

“Lanai disappears after dark,” Duvall said. “We think the birds cue in on this absolute darkness.”

The qualities that attracted the birds to Lanai also helped them go unnoticed for decades – and still makes it tough to get an accurate estimate of the population, said researcher Jay Penniman.

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February 4, 2011 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

Ranch Weighs In On Wind

It seems lately, everyone has been hosting meetings on alternative energy options for Molokai – the state, the federal government, community members – and now, land owners.

Peter Nicholas, CEO of Molokai Properties Ltd (MPL) said he has set up three meetings around the Molokai community to discuss the potential benefits and pitfalls of a wind farm. He added MPL is not currently negotiating or having talks with any wind energy company.

“There are dozens of questions that we have,” he said recently. “We are arranging to have someone there who will be a real expert on wind farms.”

MPL will be holding a meeting on March 2 at the Mitchell Pauole Center; March 3 at the Maunaloa Rec Center; and March 4 at Kilohana School. All meetings will begin at 5:30 p.m.

“This is just one of a 10-step process to find out what people really want,” Nicholas added. “The issue of a wind farm for Molokai and MPL land is a vexing question…and has the potential to deeply divide the community.”

Ranch Weighs In On Wind | Molokai Dispatch

February 4, 2011 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

Turbine Troubles

Wind farm proposal for Lanai, Molokai draws fire

By HARRY EAGAR, Staff Writer
KAHULUI – It was supposed to be a “scoping” meeting to get an idea of what questions need to be answered about the environmental impact of an enormous wind power project, but a good many of the 20 testifiers Wednesday had already decided they had the answer: not here in Maui County for the benefit of Oahu.

Others were less final but quite skeptical, and only a single testifier, Sean Lester, was squarely in favor of the proposed Hawaii Interisland Renewable Energy Program. He called it “visionary.”

The meeting at Pomaikai Elementary School attracted about 50 people, and other meetings either have been held or will soon be held on every island involved: Oahu, Maui, Molokai and Lanai.

A common complaint was that the documents so far released are unspecific. Tony Como of the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability said that was the nature of a “programmatic” environmental impact statement. These are “somewhat unique in Hawaii” but familiar in federal projects.

Its purpose, he said, is to cover broadly the implications of the state’s policy of moving to 70 percent renewable energy by 2030. Once the broad picture is available, a second, site-specific environmental impact statement would be initiated.

The deadline for the first part of the process is April 2012, because the project is counting on American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds that expire

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February 3, 2011 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

Calls For Unity on the Wind Issue

The last Hawaiian monarch, Queen Lili`uokalani said to her people, “oni pa`a” – stand strong. Last week, around 100 Molokai residents did just that.

The meeting, called Hawaiians Ku`e, called for a return to traditional Hawaiian protocol and a Hawaiian voice to the table when it comes to resource management within the state and county.

“It’s hard to participate when don’t know what you’re participating in,” said Walter Ritte, one of the meeting’s organizers. “We don’t want to participate in [a] haole process.”

The meeting began with `oli kahea, where those invited to speak – Hawaiian or not – asked for permission to enter. This is a simple practice which allowed ancient Hawaiians to coexist in limited spaces, said Ritte.

“Protocol very important if we are to survive on the island of Molokai,” Ritte said. “Us Hawaiians …cannot, will not survive without natural resources.”

Natural resources they hope to protect – such as agricultural land proposed to be used as a wind farm.

The Wind Farm Issue
Representatives from the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT) as well as wind energy company First Wind shared potential benefits of building a wind farm on Molokai.

Malama Minn of DBEDT said she understood Oahu is a huge load, but because entire state is energy inefficient and oil dependent, residents throughout the state must help each other out.

However, many in the audience didn’t agree

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January 8, 2011 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

Lanai wind farm term agreement negotiated

Hawaiian Electric Co. and Castle & Cooke Resorts officials contend that Lanai residents could see some benefits ranging from lower electric rates and guaranteed employment to hunting access and water rights as part of agreements they reached Friday on pricing terms for a Lanai wind farm.

But at least some Lanai residents say the agreement isn’t fair and would turn the island into “an industrial park” to provide electricity for Oahu.

The proposed wind farm by Interisland Wind would transmit as much as 400 megawatts of electricity to Oahu via an undersea cable from wind farms on Lanai and Molokai.

Friday’s agreements were for the Lanai facilities, not those proposed for Molokai, the companies said in a joint announcement.

“Castle & Cooke and Hawaiian Electric recognize that, while the electricity will be transmitted to Oahu, the impact of construction and operation of the wind farm will be felt on Lanai, including on cultural and recreational resources, plants and wildlife, and the people of the small island community,” the announcement said. “Therefore, a community benefits package for Lanai is appropriate.”

State Sen. J. Kalani English, whose 6th Senate District includes Lanai, Molokai, East Maui and Upcountry, said the proposal by the companies is “a good starting point.”

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November 30, 2010 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

Hawaii County considers wind farm for South Kohala

The Hawaii County Department of Water Supply is considering building a wind farm to power its South Kohala wells.

The department would lease about 80 acres of state land next to its Lalamilo wells and have a developer build the wind mills.

The project would create 50 construction jobs and three permanent jobs.

Department energy management analyst Julie Myhre says a wind farm built on the site in the mid-1980s has been decommissioned and the site has been cleaned up.

West Hawaii Today reported Monday the wind farm would save about $500,000 a year in electricity costs for the next 20 years.

A department spokeswoman says it’s too early to tell if the facility would generate excess energy to sell to Hawaii Electric Light Co.

Hawaii County considers wind farm for South Kohala – Hawaii News – Staradvertiser.com

November 22, 2010 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

State lays groundwork for more clean energy

HONOLULU – The goal of breaking Hawaii’s addiction to shipped-in oil first took vague shape during a ceremony in the governor’s executive chambers, with lofty speeches and frequent applause but few specifics.

The ceremony featured a broadly worded deal between the state and federal government to work together toward a so-called clean energy future. The agreement lacked details or the force of law, and it seemed to have all the substance of a government report destined to gather dust.

Almost three years later, however, the initiative launched in the Governor’s Office that day has helped support dozens of energy programs that have laid the groundwork for the nation’s most oil-dependent state to potentially become its most energy self-sufficient.

It will take at least a few more years before a major influx of renewable energy puts a dent in Hawaii’s heavy oil usage, but the state is making visible progress.

Tall wind turbines are sprouting across the islands. Residents and businesses will soon be able to sell homegrown solar power back to the grid. Charging stations for incoming electric cars are being built – by law, at least one per 100-space parking lot by the end of next year.

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