Ka`u News Briefs August 13, 2011

Only a few solar projects have sold energy to the electric company due to the high cost of interconnectivity studies.

MAYOR BILLY KENOI will come to Wai`ohinu Monday to celebrate the completion of additional sources of water for those living remotely who have to haul water to their homes. Six new or improved water spigot facilities have been opened across the County of Hawai`i. These facilities offer residents safe and efficient locations where they can draw clean, potable water for household use, the mayor said. The dedication ceremony will be held at the Wai`ohinu Solid Waste Transfer Station on Monday, Aug. 15 at 9 a.m. 

Wai`ohinu, where Mayor Billy Kenoi will dedicate new
water spigots. Photo from Big Island Video News

     Thousands of rural residents in the County of Hawai`i are served by household water catchment systems, and many rely on county-operated water spigots to obtain safe drinking water. The installation or improvement of the county water spigot facilities is a project by the county Department of Water Supply and the county Department of Public Works.

SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC ADVOCATES say that the new program that allows energy produced from solar to be sold to the electric company isn’t working well, since the electric company requests interconnectivity studies that cost tens of thousands of dollar. Only a few of the larger solar projects have gone online with the utility since the program began last year. The Public Utilities Commission is looking for solutions to capture more solar power for the grid. The feed-in tariff already sets rates for the electric company to pay for solar. Proposals on revamping the tariff system for up to five megawatts of power that could be sold to the electric company are being taken by the PUC through Sept. 5.

HERE IS MORE OF THE TESTIMONY being sent to the state Public Utilities Commission regarding the proposed refinery between Pahala and Wood Valley and the proposed biofuel farm between Pahala and Na`alehu.

DR. PHILIP I. MCNAMEE supports the biodiesel contract and the biofuel surcharge. Practice director of the Pacific In Vitro Fertilization Institute in Honolulu, McNamee wrote that Hawai`i’s dependence on foreign oil for creation of electricity “is very expensive and environmentally objectionable.” He claimed the project will add jobs and reduce air pollution.

Kala Kaluna

KALA KALUNA, of Pahala, said she doesn’t want her children growing up in a refinery town. She opposed the project. 

PRESIDENT AND CEO of the Hawai`i Chamber of Commerce Jim Tollefson wrote testimony recommending investments in renewable and alternative energy. Without referring to `Aina Koa Pono’s biofuel plans in Ka`u, HELCO and HECO’s proposed biodiesel supply contract, or HELCO’s proposed surcharge, Tollefson said “support for alternate forms of energy will create hundreds of new jobs as local businesses respond to the locally driven demand to migrate to innovative new ways of generating and distributing power.” He also added that renewable energy would expand businesses, thus increasing tax bases, revenues, and the economy. Anyone with questions or comments for Tollefson may call 545-4300.

SOPHIA HANOA testified at the Hilo hearing on the biofuel project that she objected to `Aina Koa Pono using a Hawaiian name that means “Good for the Land.” She said the company owners must have thought it would be an “easy sell” to take a Hawaiian name, but that these words have deep meaning to the native Hawaiian community and she refuses to use the name Good for the Land – `Aina Koa Pono. She said she opposed the proposal to take up pasture and other ag land with biofuel crops and building a refinery near Pahala. 

The transition from sugar fields to coffee plantations will
be celebrated at Ka`u Plantation Days next Saturday.

KA`U PLANTATION DAYS is gearing up for next Saturday, Aug. 20 at Pahala Plantation House, and the annual Ka`u High School Reunion will be held on Sunday, Aug. 21 at Pahala Community Center. Plantation Days starts at 9 a.m. and will feature a cane truck driving through Pahala just like the old days. Representatives of the union and many cultural groups will present historic displays. One display features old photos of houses, and residents can come and find their home. Also planned are ethnic foods, music and dance from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. 

A SIGN WAVING EVENT to raise awareness of suicide prevention is being planned for Ka`u in early September. Charmaine Alameda, of the Hawai`i Family Guidance Center, is asking interested residents to call her at 933-0607.

Ka`u News Briefs August 12, 2011

Lands between Pahala and Na`alehu would be cleared and plowed to make a biofuel farm with large combine machines harvesting the grasses.  Photo by Julia Neal

THE HAWAI`I COUNTY ADMINISTRATION is monitoring the country’s economic situation, given the turmoil in financial markets, said County deputy finance director Deanna Sako. In a Stephens Media article by Nancy Cook Lauer, Sako said that changes in interest rates will not affect the county as its $360 million bond debt is at a fixed interest rate. 

     Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has announced that the Fed will keep rates at “exceptionally low levels” for at least two years, further assuaging fears of a rate hike. Bernanke’s announcement came after the country’s credit rating was lowered from AAA to AA+, contributing to a week of market downturns.
     Chairwoman of the County Council Finance Committee, Brenda Ford, however, said the county should have been more conservative in its budget, and should have refrained from deferring $21.1 million in prepaid health cost payments. Ford also said that the county may have to lay off employees to cut expenses next year if the economy does not improve. Mayor Billy Kenoi did retain furloughs this fiscal year, but only once a month for Hawai`i Government Employees Association workers to save the county over $2 million each year in the next two years. This money will help pay for employee insurance, emergencies and deficit reduction next year. 

SPACENET, a Virginia-based Internet service provider, won a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service to provide low-cost, high speed Internet in rural parts of Alaska and Hawai`i, including Ka`u. According to the company’s website, the program, StarBand Open Skies, received $7.5 million from a grant under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. “Since its inception in 2000,” says CEO Andreas Georghiou, “the StarBand product line has focused on providing high-speed Internet service to the most rural areas without access to alternative options.... I can speak for the entire organization when I say we are immensely proud to be part of this endeavor.” 

HERE IS MORE ON THE `AINA KOA PONO and Hawaiian Electric proposal for a refinery near Pahala and an electric rate hike to pay for it.

JEFFREY T. ONO, Executive Director of the Hawai`i State Division of Consumer Advocacy, reiterated his call at the recent Honolulu hearing, asking for people to send the Consumer Advocate their questions, comments, and suggestions regarding HECO and HELCO’s request for the approval of the biodiesel supply contract with `Aina Koa Pono and a surcharge for Big Island and O`ahu customers of HELCO. “The Consumer Advocate’s role,” he says, “is to represent the interests of all Hawai`i consumers of public utility services by advocating for reliable utility services at reasonable customer costs.” Ono said that the Consumer Advocate will make its own analysis on the proposed contract and surcharge and their effects on customers’ bills.

JOHN FELDMAN, president and CEO of Tori Richard, Ltd., testified to the Public Utilities Commission in support of the HELCO/AKP biodiesel supply contract and the biofuel surcharge provision. Feldman’s company employs 140 people. By the end of this year, it will have invested $2 million of its own money in photovoltaic net metering, feed-in tariffs and demand mitigation. He testified that the `Aina Koa Pono contract “is an essential step toward energy independence.... As both commercial and private ratepayers, we support the Biofuel Surcharge Provision as it helps further diversify Hawai`i’s energy sources away from imported oil.” 

UNEMPLOYMENT CLAIMS fell over nine percent for the first week of August, said the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism. Maui saw the largest drop, 29 percent, with O`ahu and Kauai both down five percent. The Big Island saw the smallest decrease at three percent.

MEMBERS OF THE KA`U COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN steering committee will host an informational table at the Ocean View swap meet tomorrow. The swap meet is held at Pohue Plaza from 7 a.m. to noon.

THE LAVA LOUNGE AT KILAUEA MILITARY CAMP in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park is the site of a Portuguese Soup Contest tomorrow. Judging is at 3 p.m. For more information, call Peter Walburn at 960-5155.

Ka`u News Briefs August 11, 2011

A HULA KAHIKO PERFORMANCE takes place on Saturday at 10:30 a.m. on the hula platform overlooking Kilauea Crater in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. It features Hula Halau o Kou Lima Nani E under the direction of kumu hula Iwalani Kalima.

RELL WOODWARD, president of Ocean View Community Development Corp. and former president of the Ka`u Chamber of Commerce, is appealing to Ka`u residents to speak out in the public reapportionment hearings scheduled for next month. In an e-mail sent out to local business owners, community leaders, and other residents yesterday, Woodward expressed his concern for the proposed reapportionment plan that would divide Ka`u into two state House districts.

A proposed reapportionment plan
divides Ka`u into two
state House districts.

     Longtime Rep. for Ka`u, Bob Herkes, would have to campaign to represent a district that would run from Punalu`u to Pahala, Volcano, and subdivisions in Puna. Another candidate would run for a district that would represent Na`alehu, Discovery Harbour, Green Sands, Kalae, Ocean View and Miloli`i, which would be thrown in with people living in Kona all the way to Kahalu`u.
     Woodward said this could lead to representatives with little knowledge of Ka`u and more interest in Kona and Puna. Pointing to Herkes’ longtime representation of Ka`u, Woodward said, “Personally, I feel that an experienced and knowledgeable legislator is a tremendous asset. Certainly projects like the Ocean View well would not have happened otherwise.”
     Public hearings will be on Sept. 13 at 5 p.m. in the Hilo Council chamber and Sept. 14 at 5 p.m. in the Kona Council chamber.

HERE IS MORE TESTIMONY ON THE `Aina Koa Pono proposal to build a refinery and biofuel farm between Pahala and Wood Valley and Na`alehu. The testimony is posted on the website of the Public Utilities commission which recently held hearings in Kona, Hilo and Honolulu on the matter. No hearings have been held in Ka`u. The last public meeting in Ka`u regarding the proposed refinery was held in February.

LIFE OF THE LAND executive director Henry Curtis asks the PUC to require data from the electric company and `Aina Koa Pono pertaining to projected profits from selling the by-product of refining oil at a refinery planned for lands between Pahala and Wood Valley. He wrote that projected by-product income is needed since the electric company is asking to hike electrical rates to pay for the biofuel project. He said profits from the by-product char that `Aina Koa Pono says it can sell should be considered before assessing a rate hike on electric customers. Curtis pointed to `Aina Koa Pono’s proposal which says it will sell 140,000 tons of biochar each year to agricultural and conservation interests. “Will HELCO subsidies for electricity allow AKP to reap unreasonably large profits from biochar sales?” asks Life of the Land.

Douglas Van Thorre

VICE PRESIDENT AND CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER Douglas Van Thorre, of TekGar, a pioneering company in microwave polymerization technology, addressed concerns over the effects microwave radiation. “In our application,” he says, “the microwaves are contained in a microwave-proof housing called a Faraday cage. It is a metal cage that doesn’t allow the microwaves to pass through to the surrounding environment.” Van Thorre says the microwaves used in the process are similar to those used in homes in that the frequency of the microwaves is the same and that both use Faraday cages. “Constant monitoring of the plant is a routine measure when the plant is processing.” The commander works with the Fleet Energy Office of the U.S. Pacific Fleet. 

COMMANDER MATTHEW COHEN, of the U.S. Pacific Fleet’s Energy Management Office, suggested alternatives to biofuel in order to reduce energy costs. He wrote to the PUC, “Before you spend any more taxpayer money on energy projects, strong consideration should be given to ‘incentivizing’ shopkeepers on Kalakaua to shut their doors when the AC is running.”
     He also suggested that all Hawai`i photovoltaic projects be fitted with controls that raise AV thermostat settings and disable compressor circuits as solar array output drops due to clouds or haze.” He also suggested that all new buildings have white roofs and reflective coating to reduce heat absorbed by the building.
     Cohen further suggested that all new buildings that include AC be required to install a pre-heater for hot water that utilizes rejected condenser heat.
     Other suggestions from the Navy Commander: “Stop selling any incandescent lamps,” and “T12 fluorescent lamps in stores.... Establish a website that provides HSS feeds of incoming solar radiation so PV system owners can install system performance monitoring equip without the cost element of a pyranometer. Performance monitoring will detect and report system faults and trigger required repairs.”
     He finished his testimony by recommending periodic inspections and verifications of hot water solar thermal systems. 

PRESIDENT OF ILWU LOCAL 142 Isaac Fiesta, Jr. reiterated the union’s strong support for the biofuel supply contract for `Aina Koa Pono and the biofuel surcharge. Both, he says, will ultimately benefit the local economy. “Approval of the Biodiesel Supply Contract,” he said, “will mean the company can secure investors and financing to construct a biorefinery in Wood Valley and hire workers from the Ka`u area to cultivate, harvest, and process the feedstock crops needed to produce biodiesel.” This, Fiesta claims, will spill over to other industries such as stores, restaurants and medical facilities. 

     Apart from economic benefits, Fiesta says that biofuel production will help the state reach its target of generating 40 percent of energy needs by 2020. “The surcharge,” he says, “is an investment in our energy future. Paying a little now will help to ensure more secure and affordable electricity for our children and grandchildren.” 

ALEXANDER CAUSEY, an engineer for `Aina Koa Pono, submitted testimony to the PUC concerning the proposed contract between AKP and the electric company. Causey claims that, of all the technologies he reviewed for viability for `Aina Koa Pono, “there was no other [technology] that compared even closely with the microwave depolymerization technology with respect to production per acre and capital costs and pure potential because of its multiple product outputs – the process works and will generate ASTM Specification fuel.” 

A Corpse plant blooms, stinkingly, at the
Pana`ewa Zoo on Hwy 11 between
Ka`u and Hilo.

THE RARE FLOWERING OF A CORPSE PLANT will be available to see and smell for any Ka`u residents driving to and from Hilo. It is on display for the next few days – as long as the bloom lasts - at the Pana`ewa Rainforest Zoo and Gardens just off Hwy 11. The Corpse plant, nicknamed “Stinky 1,” and also referred to as titum arum, produces an odor similar to rotting meat when in full bloom to attract carrion beetles and flesh flies that pollinate it. The zoo is open daily from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

MEMBERS OF THE KA`U COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN steering committee will host an informational table at the Ocean View swap meet this Saturday. The swap meet is held at Pohue Plaza from 7 a.m. to noon.