A relatively new kind of farm taking root on Neighbor Islands and around the world could soon become reality on the Garden Isle. From the ground up, Kaua‘i residents in various capacities have pushed over the years for energy independence,
A relatively new kind of farm taking root on Neighbor Islands and around the world could soon become reality on the Garden Isle.
From the ground up, Kaua‘i residents in various capacities have pushed over the years for energy independence, learning along the way that windmills could be one way to realize this goal.
Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative signed an agreement in 2006 with Kaua‘i Wind Power for a proposed 10- to 12.5-megawatt project that would provide the island’s first significant source of wind energy, according to UPC Hawai‘i Wind Partners Vice President Mike Gresham.
“As a community, we have to be concerned of the world’s situation and our vulnerability sitting in the middle of the ocean,” he said.
Although the project is small, Gresham said it would make a significant contribution toward reducing an over-reliance on fossil fuels here.
Hanapepe resident Arius Hopman agreed.
“I feel it is absolutely essential for Kaua‘i to be looking into renewables and breaking free from its near total dependency on imported energy,” he said. “Wind and solar (water heating) seem the most feasible and immediately do-able.”
The proposed Kaua‘i project is in the concept stage, Gresham said, likely two years from reality.
Kaua‘i Wind Power has chosen an Eastside site on a Department of Hawaiian Homelands parcel that is on the mauka side of Kuhio Highway near Moloa‘a, he said.
The plan is to install four or five 2.5-megawatt wind turbines, he said, capable of powering some 3,000 homes. The turbines would sit on 80-meter towers with rotors 96 meters in diameter.
“If this is successful, it would be very visible to the folks driving back and forth,” Gresham said. “But if it’s anything like the farm on Maui, it becomes a source of pride because it’s renewable energy and it’s something people are very interested in.”
KIUC board member Carol Bain said, speaking as a Kaua‘i citizen, also acknowledged the potential for controversy a wind farm could create.
“Many people become upset to see windmills and think they are ugly,” she said. “… However, when I drive down the hill toward Port Allen and see that large, ugly diesel power plant with its stacks (knowing emissions are coming out), I think I would much rather see windmills sitting there — or at least have several alongside it.”
Due to Kaua‘i’s list of endangered species, Gresham said the company will do an environmental impact statement prior to installation.
“We’ve got an island that has a strong breeze and we should take advantage of it as an alternative to fossil fuels,” Bain said.
Wind farms on the Big Island and Maui provide more than 40 megawatts of renewable energy, which could more than double if proposed projects go through there.
O‘ahu will also join the list if West Wind Works’ proposed 50-megawatt project is brought to fruition, according to the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism Web site.
The proposed Kaua‘i project’s wind turbines could annually eliminate the burning of 83,000 equivalent barrels of oil, according to KIUC’s Web site.
“The whole idea of moving toward energy self-sufficiency should be explored in a way that utilizes our natural resources in concert with the latest technologies,” Malama Kaua‘i director Keone Kealoha said. “We really are trying to move toward that 21st century ahupua‘a thing … but we have to look at the environmental, social and cultural impacts and listen to community concerns and weigh those things out.”
Although the scope of these projects pales in comparison to some European efforts, some residents say it’s a good start.
The Scottish government, for instance, on Sept. 9 approved that island’s second largest wind farm — a 213-megawatt project capable of powering 120,000 homes.
With roughly 60,000 people on Kaua‘i, residents say the task should be easier here.
Site selection may complicate things, but state Rep. Mina Morita, D-14th District, said a move toward greater energy security is a sacrifice worth making.
“I’m supportive of all the various forms of renewable energy. For wind energy here, it’s a matter of finding the right place for it,” she said. “On Kaua‘i, there’s a lot of concern about aesthetics and the view plane. But you have to understand with wind there are certain areas that are good resources and as much as possible we should be looking at these sites.”
A sense of urgency
Hawai‘i must obtain 10 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2010 and 20 percent by 2020 under Gov. Linda Lingle’s “Energy for Tomorrow” vision.
“The goal to derive 20 percent of our island’s energy needs from alternatives to fossil fuels by 2020 … is too modest,” Bain said. “As a state and as an island community, we need to do more.”
In addition to mandates, state and federal tax credits for renewable energy projects have made wind power competitive in the industry. But some credits will sunset in 2008, Morita said, unless Congress extends them.
For units installed and placed in service after July 1, 2006, state tax credits range from 20 percent of the actual cost or $1,500, whichever is less, for a single family residential property to 20 percent of the actual cost; or $500,000, whichever is less, for a commercial property.
This incentive is coupled with the federal Wind Energy Production Tax Credit, enacted in 1992, that provides a credit of 1.9 cents per kilowatt hour for electricity produced from a wind farm during the first 10 years of its operation. This credit has only been extended through Dec. 31.
More than 90 percent of electricity on Kaua‘i comes from imported oil, according to KIUC’s Web site.
“Especially with our high energy prices on Kaua‘i, we should be very concerned … but it’s not going to be one renewable energy that’s going to satisfy our needs,” Morita said. “Wind has come a long way and is becoming more competitive with traditional generation …. It’s something we should give serious consideration to.”
• Nathan Eagle, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 224) or neagle@kauaipubco.com.
