Ka`u News Briefs July 28, 2011

Mufi Hannemann (center), who visited Bull Kailiawa (second from right) at his coffee farm during his race for governor last year, caught up with Ka`u Coffee farmers at the recent Hawai`i Lodging, Hospitality & Food Service Expo in Honolulu. Hannemann is now the executive director of the Hawai`i Hotel Association. With Kailiawa are Miss Ka`u Coffee Brandy Shibuya and coffee farmers Francis and Trini Marques.  Photo by Jamie Kailiawa

LOWER RATES TO INSURE HOMES are being requested by Hawai`i Insurance Commissioner Gordon Ito, who sent notices to insurance companies to provide a more reasonable rate schedule by Oct. 6 or face penalties. A story in Civil Beat by reporter Nanea Kalani says that Hawai`i home insurance rates rank 16th highest in the county. Highest for the most common homeowners plan is in Texas at $1,460 a year, followed by Florida at $1,390 a year. Hawai`i comes in at $862 a year, while the least expensive are in Oregon at $439, Utah at $432 and Idaho at $387, according to Civil Beat. Ito said he doesn’t accept the idea that high insurance rates are simply “the price of paradise,” Civil Beat reported. He told Civil Beat that “homeowner insurance rates are being charged at excessive rates.” For more see civilbeat.com. 

COUNTY FURLOUGH DAYS begin tomorrow for the current fiscal year, with most county offices closed on Friday and then again next Friday and the first Friday of the month thereafter. Anyone needing to renew drivers licenses by the end of this month should do it today, the last day of July when the motor vehicles office will be open. County swimming pools, including the one in Pahala, will be closed for two days in August, with individual pools shut down on different days. Hele-On Bus service will have normal schedules. The furloughs are expected to save the county $2.1 million a year.

Illegal dump sites like this will be cleaned up during a
three-day event in Ocean View.
Photo courtesy of Keep Hawai`i Beautiful

THE BIG CLEANUP will be held in Ocean View this Saturday. The three-day event is sponsored by Keep Hawai`i Beautiful Inc., The Church of Latter-Day Saints Ka`u Ward and Mike Dubois, coordinator of the Ka`u Prevent Illegal Dumping Task Force, and other volunteers and businesses. Volunteers sign up at 7 a.m. this Saturday at the intersection of Seabreeze and Iwalani Streets in Ocean View. Following a safety briefing, they will collect garbage with the help of heavy equipment and even excavators to clean out lava tubes. Funding comes from Hawai`i County Office of the Prosecuting Attorney, the Office of the Mayor, and the Hawai`i County Police Department. 

A SCENIC BYWAY MEETING was scheduled for this morning at Ocean View Community Center 10 a.m. and more are scheduled for next week. The meetings concern Highway 11 in Ka`u being nominated as a State Scenic Highway. The nomination was sent in by the Ka`u Chamber of Commerce to the federal government. “The Slopes of Mauna Loa” with its large stretches and untouched landscape was the theme chosen by the committee established by the Chamber to oversee the designation of the scenic byway. Meetings are set for Na`alehu Community Center Monday, Aug. 1 at 6 p.m. and at Pahala Community Center Wednesday, Aug. 3 at 7 p.m.

OCEAN VIEW COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORP. holds its meeting today at 5:30 p.m. at Ocean View Community Center.

Public Utilities Commission
director Mina Morita

THE PUBLIC HEARINGS on the proposed `Aina Koa Pono biofuel refinery between Wood Valley and Pahala and the proposed biofuel farm on thousands of acres of pasture between Pahala and Na`alehu are scheduled on Tuesday, Aug. 2 at 9 a.m. at the State Building in Hilo and at 4 p.m. at the West Hawai`i Civic Center in Kona. 

     Here are more questions and answers of a technical nature from `Aina Koa Pono:

What is the quality of the fuel?
 The microwave depolymerization process generates a synthetic crude oil that has properties very close to regular diesel and can be processed further to produce a diesel fuel with a BTU value of approximately 140,000 BTU/gallon, and that meets ASTM specification D 975 for No 2 Low Sulfur fuel.

Can the process be modified to produce gasoline and jet fuel?
 The synthetic crude is a mixture of hydrocarbons including gasoline and kerosene (jet fuel) fractions. The majority of the mixture is in the diesel fraction, through distillation and close monitoring of the microwave process the majority fraction can be shifted to kerosene or gasoline providing feed for the jet fuel and gasoline process lines.

 The freezing point of the fuels that are generated from the MWDP process meet the maximum FP limits for JP-8 and JP-5, which make it an attractive alternative to fossil fuels.

What are the physical properties of the fuel – is it corrosive?
 The fuel produced compares with diesel and other hydrocarbon fossil fuels. It may be considered a “drop-in” fuel to replace existing fossil fuel products. The microwave process breaks down the oxygen bonds which in turn reduces the acidity of the fuel, and its hygroscopic (water absorbing) properties and generates a less corrosive fuel.



How will the new fuel impact emissions?
 In general, when growing biomass for conversion to fuel the U.S. DOE allows the sequestration of CO2 to be included in the balance. Consequently the reduction in CO2 emissions will be of the order twelve times (ie 1/12th of current emissions). 
With conversion of plastics and other MSW products the reduction in GHG and CO2 emissions is about one quarter, plus the reduction in volume disposed in the landfill.

 The molecular structure of the fuel produced also has fewer saturated bonds which reduces particulate emissions and produces a cleaner burn, and the increased energy value of the synthetic diesel reduces the consumption approximately 10 percent on a gallon for gallon basis.

Ka`u News Briefs July 27, 2011

`Aina Koa Pono proposes to build its biofuels refinery along Meyer Camp Road above Pahala in Wood Valley.
Photo by Julia Neal

THE HAWAI`I INTERAGENCY COUNCIL ON HOMELESSNESS was established by executive order on Tuesday. Gov. Neil Abercrombie signed the order, saying that the council “will be action oriented, results based, and maintain a relentless focus on bringing about results.” The 24-member council will include the governor as chair, members of his Cabinet, and the county mayors including Mayor William Kenoi. The council-members are to meet quarterly and report annually to the Governor, the Legislature, and the county mayors. The first meeting is scheduled for early August. 

Hawai`i State Department of Education
Superintendent Kathryn Matayoshi

GOV. NEIL ABERCROMBIE, along with Department of Education Schools Superintendent Kathryn Matayoshi and Board of Education Chairman Don Horner, have released a joint statement in response to a prohibited practice complaint filed by the Hawai`i State Teacher Association’s to the Hawai`i Labor Relations Board on July 8. The statement claims the state bargained “in good faith for many months to reach agreement with negotiators representing teachers.” The state attorney general pointed out that the teachers union and the Department of Education held 16 bargaining sessions. Thee were three meetings with the governor, two meetings between the administration and the union and one meeting between the union and the state budget chief. While there were many agreements made, the union did not offer the teachers the opportunity to vote on the agreements, the state claims. 

COUNTY CORPORATE COUNSEL MICHAEL UDOVIC will speak at a community meeting at Na`alehu Community Center tonight at 7 p.m. about redistricting for County Council seats.

ILLEGAL DUMP SITES in Ocean View will be the target of an ambitious cleanup effort beginning this Saturday. The three-day event is the product of a community alliance between Keep Hawai`i Beautiful Inc.; The Church of Latter-Day Saints Ka`u Ward; Mike Dubois, coordinator of the Ka`u Prevent Illegal Dumping Task Force and other volunteers and businesses. Named “The Big Cleanup,” the event begins with volunteers signing up at 7 a.m. at the intersection of Seabreeze and Iwalani Streets. After a safety briefing, garbage collecting begins with the help of heavy equipment and even excavators to clean out lava tubes. The cleanup is made possible by the funding from the Hawai`i County Office of the Prosecuting Attorney, the Office of the Mayor, and the Hawai`i County Police Department.

THE ONE ISLAND SUSTAINABLE LIVING CENTER, a nonprofit education organization, is launching a “local food system” campaign on the Big Island. The campaign emphasizes the consumption of locally grown produce. Buying local, the organization says, not only supports local farmers but promotes food security, health, and other benefits. The organization hosts a co-op farm booth at the South Kona Green Market, where farmers may sell their crops and participate in garden workshops from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Sunday. 

OCEAN VIEW COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORP. holds its meeting tomorrow at 5:30 p.m. at Ocean View Community Center.

A SCENIC BYWAY MEETING will be held at Ocean View Community Center tomorrow at 10 a.m. regarding Highway 11 in Ka`u being nominated as a State Scenic Highway. The nomination was sent in by the Ka`u Chamber of Commerce to the federal government. “The Slopes of Mauna Loa” with its large stretches and untouched landscape was the theme chosen by the committee established by the Chamber to oversee the designation of the scenic byway. This week’s meeting will entail the creation of subcommittees that will manage different aspects of the scenic byway and a public discussion on its priorities. More byways meetings will be at Na`alehu Community Center Monday, Aug. 1 at 6 p.m. and at Pahala Community Center Wednesday, Aug. 3 at 7 p.m.

`AINA KOA PONO has a question-and-answer section on its website at ainakoapono.com. Chris Eldridge, an `Aina Koa Pono partner, said it will be updated after the public hearings held Tuesday, Aug. 2 in Hilo and Kona. Here are more of the questions and answers:

What Technology will be used for producing biofuel?
 `Aina Koa Pono says, “We will be using an established technology called microwave thermal depolymerization which has been used in the food processing and pharmaceutical industries for 50 years.” The technology has only recently been applied to making bio-fuel. Heat and pressure are applied to organic material to produce biofuel and biochar. 

 

`Aina Koa Pono's depiction of its refinery shows four microwave reactors.

What is Microwave Depolymerization (MWDP)? `Aina Koa Pono describes MWDP as “an acceleration of a natural decomposition process when large complex hydrocarbon molecules are broken down into smaller sizes that exist as liquids at Normal Temperatures and Pressures. Heat from the microwave process is what accelerates decomposition of materials.
” 

Why are microwaves more efficient for heating? The company says microwaves heat from the inside out – as opposed to other heating methods which rely on heat transfer from the outside in, and microwave ovens have no emissions. They work effectively at much lower temperatures than traditional heating methods, the company says. 

How does MWDP compare with other processes? 
`Aina Koa Pono compares three technologies on its website: Hydrogen Power generates electricity at 800 to 900 kilowatt hours per ton, gasification/Fisher Tropsch generates fuel at an equivalent of 1,555 kilowatt hours per ton, and total energy output of MWDP is 3,496 kilowatt hours per ton.
     The company says that, in terms of gallons per acre, production varies, but MDWP generates 3,000-4,500 gallons per acre depending on location, soils and selected crops. Other processes such as palm oil conversion generate 500-600 gallons per acre, gasification/Fisher-Tropsch produces 1,500-2,000 gallons per acre, and algae is theoretically capable of producing 5,000 or more gallons per acre, but has a number of years for its commercial development.



At what temperature does MWDP work?
 The company says MWDP works at around 285-320 degrees Celsius, much lower than the 750-800 degrees Celsius needed by other heating methods. The process “produces no oxides of nitrogen, dioxins or furans which are considered hazardous materials,” `Aina Koa Pono says.

Ka`u News Briefs July 26, 2011

A Scenic Byways meeting for Ka`u will be held this Thursday by the Ka`u Chamber of Commerce. Photo by Julia Neal

LAVA OVERFLOWED THE RIM of the southeast side of Pu`u `O`o Crater last night. With the Pu`u `O`u lava lake rim rising faster than the lake surface, a large piece of the east rim fell into the lake, and cracking is obvious on the doming crater floor. Lava is also issuing from sources along the base of the northeastern crater wall but remained within the crater.

Plastic bags are outlawed at retailers on Maui, Kaua`i
and in L.A.  Photo from ProjectGreenBag.com

REGULATION OF PLASTIC BAGS will be the subject of a public hearing 5 p.m. today at Na`alehu Community Center. The proposed bill would add a new article to the Hawai`i County code entailing plastic bag reduction measures. If passed, businesses will not be allowed to provide plastic bags to their customers. Businesses would have up to one year from the bill’s approval to shift away from handing out plastic bags and toward reusable bags made from machine washable fabric or of paper designed for multiple and long-term use. The bill, however, exempts nonprofit organizations from the ban, and it allows people to continue to use plastic trash bags. Kaua`i and Maui already banned commercial distribution of plastic bags. 

Michael Udovic

COUNTY CORPORATE COUNSEL MICHAEL UDOVIC will speak at a community meeting at Na`alehu Community Center tomorrow at 7 p.m. about redistricting for County Council seats. The county Redistricting Commission already plans to exclude temporary residents like the military, non-resident students and non-resident inmates. Udovic recently stated: “Those persons who do not have the intent to remain permanently in the County of Hawai`i are not considered permanent residents and should be excluded from the population base in determining the redistricting of the nine council districts.” 

     This contrasts with the recent state Reapportionment Commission’s controversial vote to include military personnel in redistricting for state Senate and House seats. Including military personnel would have given O`ahu more representation in the Hawai`i Senate and dashed hopes for a fourth Senate seat for the Big Island. After being asked for an opinion by by Ka`u’s Rep. Bob Herkes, state Attorney General David M. Louie declared that the population base could not include military personnel when drawing the maps for voter districts.
     A county decision to include military personnel in its local redistricting would have little effect as this island hosts few servicemen.
     The District 6 Matters Meeting is sponsored by County Council member Brittany Smart. 

A SCENIC BYWAY MEETING will be held at Ocean View Community Center this Thursday at 10 a.m. Highway 11 in Ka`u has been nominated to be designated as a State Scenic Highway, following an application by the Ka`u Chamber of Commerce to the federal government. “The Slopes of Mauna Loa” with its large stretches and untouched landscape was the theme chosen by the committee established by the Chamber to oversee the designation of the scenic byway. This week’s meeting will entail the creation of subcommittees that will manage different aspects of the scenic byway and a public discussion on its priorities. More byways meetings will be at Na`alehu Community Center Monday, Aug. 1 at 6 p.m. and at Pahala Community Center Wednesday, Aug. 3 at 7 p.m. 

THE PUBLIC HEARINGS on the proposed `Aina Koa Pono biofuel refinery between Wood Valley and Pahala and the proposed biofuel farm on thousands of acres of pasture between Pahala and Na`alehu are scheduled on Tuesday, Aug. 2 at 9 a.m. at the State Building in Hilo and at 4 p.m. at the West Hawai`i Civic Center in Kona.
     Here are more questions and answers from `Aina Koa Pono:

What training, education, and workforce development will be provided to prepare local residents for the available jobs?
 “We are already meeting with Big Island Labor Alliance, Work Hawai`i, and the University of Hawai`i. We will work with the county Planning Department, the local high schools, and unions to develop training programs to fill our needs,” says `Aina Koa Pono. 




Is the project economically viable? 
“Yes,” says `Aina Koa Pono.

What is the price of biofuels being sold to HECO?
 “This is proprietary information under the terms of the contract with HECO as they are currently negotiating other bio-fuel contracts,” says `Aina Koa Pono.

What are the basic assumptions of AKP’s finance and business plans?
 “To sell fuel to HELCO and to grow our own feedstock to contain costs. We have a 20-year contract for our biofuel,” says `Aina Koa Pono.