Ka`u News Briefs March 17, 2013

Richard Ha testified that cattle ranching would be displaced from Ka`u lands targeted by AKP. Photo by Julia Neal

FARMER RICHARD HA is a witness in the Public Utilities Commission’s `Aina Koa Pono case. He testified last week on behalf of Hawai`i County, regarding the proposed 20-year contract between `Aina Koa Pono and the electric companies that would allow the purchase of biodiesel at an estimated $200 a barrel. It would be manufactured in Ka`u at a refinery proposed for land along Wood Valley Road. The fuel would be trucked to Hawai`i Electric Light Co.’s power plant near Kona Airport.
      Ha is President of Hamakua Springs Country Farms and is known for reinvigorating the banana industry on the Big Island and growing tomatoes and other truck crops. He is also a supporter of geothermal energy, saying that low electric rates will help the economy and help the poor. He is a member of the state Board of Agriculture.
      Ha testified: “We should not lock ourselves into a $200 (per barrel) subsidy for 20 years.” He pointed to a study, presented to the Association for the Study of Peak Oil 2012 convention by an International Monetary Fund economic research team led by Dr. Michael Kumhof. Wrote Ha, it “shows that a decline rate of only 2% (reduction in oil) a year could result in 20% reduction in world GDP over a 20 year period. We need to proactively allow ourselves flexibility to cope with worst-case possibilities. The AKP biofuel proposal leaves Hawai`i with few options,” charged Ha.

Richard Ha, a successful food farmer, testified for the County regarding AKP.

      He testified that “We should not trade food for fuel. The Ed Olson land that is now proposed for biofuel production is mostly occupied by cattle raising. There isn't enough sun energy to accommodate both cattle raising and energy production on the same parcel of land. If the AKP project is to go forward the cattle must be removed. AKP claims this project will reinvigorate agriculture in the area. It probably will not. When cellulosic biofuel projects were first proposed on the mainland, the projects set a target of $45 per Ion for the feedstock. Because farmers were getting $100/ton for hay, they asked for and received a $45 per ton subsidy.    
      “At a Big Island Community Coalition meeting with the AKP team, I asked the AECOM (AKP’s consulting engineers) representative, how much they expected to pay for biofuel feedstock, here on the Big Island. He said, between $55 and $65/ton. The problem is Big Island farmers were getting $200 per ton for hay. It is doubtful that farmers will accept between $55 and $65 per ton for growing the feedstock when mainland farmers required $100/ton.

      “This does not sound like a good deal for farmers. Manufactured food comes from the mainland using cheap electricity. AKP's $200 per barrel price makes Hawai`i food product manufacturers less competitive. This threatens Hawai`i's food security.
      “I asked Dr. Cari Bonham, the Executive Director of the University of Hawai`i Economic Research Organization, if we on the Big Island use geothermal as our primary base power would we become more competitive to the rest of the world as oil price rose. He said, that was fair to say. Geothermal generated electricity costs half that of oil generated electricity and, because the feedstock is steam, its cost will be stable for as long as the Big Island stays over the "hot spot" which is 500,000 to a million years, according to both Dr. Don Thomas, Geochemist, Director of Center for the Study of Active Volcanoes Ph.D., University of Hawai`i and Dr. Jim Kauahikaua, director of the Hawai`i Volcanos Observatory."

Ha testified that the AKP option threatens food security. Photo by Julia Neal

      Ha was asked, “What have you concluded with respect to the public interest of the Biofuel Supply Contract?” He testified that “Placing the financial burden on the people of Hawai`i to enable an unproven technology, is assuming too much risk. Sometimes, instead of attempting to be first in the world, it may be wiser to be good at copying the first in the world. The Big Island has one of the lowest median family incomes in the state of Hawai`i. Education is the best predictor of family income. Big Island schools have been paying a 25% premium for electricity compared to O`ahu for as long as people can remember. That 25% premium comes right off the education budget.
      “The AKP project of high-priced, subsidized- by-the ratepayer biofuel will not contribute to raising median family incomes. It will do just the opposite! Two thirds of our economy is made up of consumer spending. AKP, because it results in higher rather than lower electricity rates, takes away discretionary income, the basis of consumer spending,” concluded Ha. See all the testimony at www.puc.hawaii.gov. Click on `Aina Koa Pono and on documents.

EAST KA`U STATE SENATOR RUSSELL RUDERMAN joined a parade in Hilo yesterday, along with about a thousand marchers and several Ka`u residents, calling for a ban on food grown from Genetically Modified Organisms, for the legislature to require GMO labeling, and for companies like Monsanto to stop leasing farm land in Hawai`i to grow GMO's. Ruderman said the state needs to be involved because GMO companies have too much influence over the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. He said that Michael Taylor, a former Monsanto attorney and vice-president, is chief of the FDA. He also said that until the recent leadership change in  the state legislature, GMO bills went nowhere. Now, GMO bills are being heard, said Ruderman.  He said House Bill 174, which would require labeling GMO foods, is still alive. Citizens can weigh in by going to www.hawaii.gov, looking up the bill and writing testimony.

Dean Nagasako, at the front of the anti-GMO parade in Hilo yesterday,
 grew up in Pahala.  Photo by Julia Neal

     Ruderman said that GMO companies, worldwide, are gaining control of food production. Locally, he said, they are farming about a fifth of the best agricultural lands in Hawai`i and are looking to control water rights. He said most of GMO plants grown in Hawai`i, like seed corn, are exported. "The fact is, we haven't fed ourselves All of their work doesn't feed us. GMO's use 100 to 1,000 times more poisons than other crops and poisons kill the reefs and poison groundwaters, while taking away farmland from food self-sufficiency," contended Ruderman.

     The senator said that GMO's can also be stopped through buying power. "That's what happened in Europe. When 5 percent of people stopped buying GMO, companies changed the ingredients they used."

     Ruderman said that yesterday's march in Hilo was the biggest he recalls for any issue in recent years. It was followed by a non-GMO potluck and speeches at Mo`oheiau Bandstand, including talks by taro expert Jerry Konanui and anti-GMO activist Walter Ritte from Moloka`i. 

     Among Ka`u residents participating in the march were Democratic Precinct Chair Sara Witt, former KAHU Radio deejay Dean Nagasako,  and Ka`u Specialty, Inc. coffee broker Malian Lahey, who kept rhythm for the walkers on a drum. 

Ruderman said it was the largest protest march in Hilo he could remember.
Photo by Julia Neal

KA`U’S REPRESENTATIVE TO THE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Democrat Tulsi Gabbard, joined Candy Crowley’s State of the Union news show on CNN this morning for a discussion on Iraq: Ten Years Later.
      Gabbard said she was serving as a state legislator “going surfing on the weekends, and then all of the sudden found out that this deployment of close to 3,000 Hawai`i troops was happening to Iraq. I was not on that first mandatory deployment roster, but knew very quickly that there was no way that I could stay home in the comfort of my house and in Hawai‘i and watch my brothers and sisters deploy – and recognizing the necessity to stand with them as they went off to combat. The experience completely changed my life and was a very big motivator in recognizing what are the true costs of war.” 

   On lessons in Iraq and the threat from North Korea, Gabbard said: “Our miscalculation there [was] fighting this unconventional threat – these unconventional terrorists who know no allegiance to a specific flag or a country – with very conventional tactics. I think that as we look to the past, and as we look forward to the future, we look to the threats that we are facing today, for example, North Korea…. Countries that have very specific capabilities, that have nuclear weapons, that have missiles that are within range of places like Hawai‘i and Alaska, where the people in my community are very concerned about what kinds of actions we will take.”

Tulsi Gabbard, Ka`u's member in Congress and Republican congressman Tom

Cotton, of Arkansas, on Candy Crowley's State of the Union on CNN this 

morning. Image from CNN

      On serving our veterans and addressing VA backlog, Candy Crowley asked Gabbard,  “Do you think the VA is doing its job?” Gabbard replied, “No, not to serve every single veteran that is coming in, both the new generation of veterans from those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as those who have served in Vietnam, who have served in Korea, and other conflicts in our past. Without a doubt, we need to do better. We need to do better in Congress to make sure that we as a country are fulfilling our responsibilities to these veterans who have sacrificed so much, and to their families, and to get the respect and services that they have earned.” She said it is important that she can work with veterans who are serving in Congress and the U.S. Senate. “It really is going to take all of us having a concerted focus, commitment, and effort to make sure that the resources are there and that the focus and attention does not wane if it is not at the top of the headlines,” said Gabbard.

KA`U RURAL HEALTH COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION’S Board of Directors has announced funding from the HMSA Foundation to support the Ka`u Rural Health Academy Program. The demonstration project focuses on health, education, research opportunities and economic sustainability. Jessie Marques E.D. said the program will: provide and promote health education and prevention with a Health & Wellness education initiative; establish a Youth Mentoring Program that fosters health career pathways, education, training and employment opportunities; and introduce consumers to the use of health information and technology in the healthcare industry.
      Theresa Richardson, Office Manager, and Rochele Gacayan, Program Assistant, were recently hired. More information about the program will be announced at the Ka`u
Rural Health Community Association’s 16th Annual Rural Health Conference on Friday, April 12 at Pahala Community Center.

Ann Fontes is one of the kupuna who built an `ukulele of koa.
Photo by Julia Neal

MORE THAN 30 `UKULELE went home with Ka`u young people and kupuna yesterday. The `ukulele build at Pahala Plantation House was sponsored by KoAloha `Ukulele company, Keoki Kahumoku’s Center for Hawaiian Music Studies, Pahala Plantation Cottages, Queen Liliu`okalani Childrens Center, the Edmund C. Olson Trust and Ka`u Coffee Mill. KoAloha craftsman taught the local students the art of building an `ukulele from native Hawaiian koa wood donated for the project. The build was followed by a concert combining bluegrass and Hawaiian music at Pahala Plantation House. Some of the `ukulele building students played for community members along with Kahumoku and bluegrass musicians on stand up bass, banjo, mandolin, dobro, fiddle and guitar, as well as the new `ukulele.

A SEED EXCHANGE and Garden Talk Story is today until 3 p.m. at Na`ohelelua Historical Church on Kama`oa Road near Discovery Harbor. Call 988-6011.

A ST. PATRICK’S DAY BUFFET is today from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Kilauea Military Camp’s Crater Rim Café. Shepherd’s pie, corned beef and cabbage, beer-boiled potatoes, whiskey carrots, salad bar, ice cream bar and beverage. $17.50 per person.

Ka`u News Briefs March 16, 2013

County of Hawai`i has submitted testimony to the Public Utilities Commission regarding `Aina Koa Pono's proposal to grow biofuel crops and refine biofuel in Ka`u and sell it to HELCO. Photo by Julia Neal

RENEWABLE FUELS EXPERT Peter Y. Matlock weighed in on `Aina Koa Pono this week with testimony submitted to the Public Utilities Commission by Hawai`i County. He analyzed the proposed contract for a 20-year fixed price for `Aina Koa Pono to sell 16 million gallons of biofuel a year to the electric companies. Land for clearing and growing biomass would be  located between Pahala and Na`alehu. The refinery would be off Wood Valley Road.
    In the mid-1990's, Matlock  started several companies applying new technologies to market and social needs, including Viridis, Inc., aiming to make commodity and specialty chemicals from renewable sugars to reduce reliance on petroleum as an industrial feedstock. He  provided assistance to one of the leading bio-product companies making large-volume industrial chemicals in two rounds of financing of $20 million each, product selection and business strategy. He was vice-president of Micromidas, Inc., a California company developing technologies to efficiently utilize waste streams as feedstock to make renewables-based chemicals and fuels. He is an expert in agricultural biotechnology and medical biotechnology. His educational background includes an undergraduate degree with honors in economics from Swarthmore College and two graduate degrees in management science and engineering from Stanford University.
      The following is a sample of Matlock’s testimony:
      “Biofuels and other products made from renewable carbon sources provide great promise for the U.S. and State of Hawai`i. To be sustainable in the long-term, renewable fuels and chemicals must meet product performance requirements and be economically competitive. Although there is policy-level concern that higher priced fuels may be justified to counter the perceived negative externalities of fossil fuels (global warming, price volatility, energy security), there are also policy questions of how high a price should be imposed on individuals and the economy in regions that are relatively early and greater adopters of alternative — and often higher priced — energy sources. This plays out at the national level (will the U.S. suffer a competitive disadvantage under carbon tax or cap-and-trade scenarios compared to China), state level (will California’s AB32 program disadvantage its manufacturing base relative to other states; do Hawai`i’s higher energy prices discourage certain types of economic growth on the Islands), and county level (with an existing higher rate of renewable energy production, what will be the Impact on the County of Hawai`i’s economic growth from higher electricity costs). The Public Utilities Commission’s analysis of the proposed AKP contract places it directly in the middle of these policy questions.

Matlock questions whether it is appropriate to make a
20-year commitment prior to Micro Dee technology
being proven on a large scale. Photo from AKP

      “There are many interesting technical approaches to directly utilizing the complete lignocellulosic material of biomass, and they carry both great promise and demonstrated technical challenges and costs. It is indeed hoped that the Microwave Catalytic Depolymerization technology will prove itself as a commercially viable approach to making biofuels at prices that are not only competitive but provide cost reductions to Hawai`i’s strained ratepayers. There is discussion of a 33 ton per day AKP demonstration facility (installation of the first of many 33 ton per day modules that make up the MicroDee design). The challenge for AKP and the commission is a “chicken and egg” one: whether it is appropriate to make the twenty-year commitment prior to demonstration with a plant of this size, or whether the twenty-year commitment is necessary to enable this demonstration plant to be built.
      “However, current and available evidence indicates the following:
It is simply too early in the development of this technology to commit to a potential twenty-year supply contract;

• The technology has not been sufficiently demonstrated to confidently anticipate a scale-up to commercial production within (redacted) years, especially given the experience of other biofuels companies and evidence that this technology development is at an extremely early stage for the nature of these discussions; 
• System design has not been sufficiently described to confidently understand its operations, costs, inputs and byproducts, including potential waste streams and pollutants; Certain unit operations, such as hydrogen generation, could impose substantial externalities (costs, emissions, truck transport of flammable materials), but have not been adequately characterized to understand their impact; 
• Feedstock for the process has not been identified and sufficiently tested for agronomic production conditions to adequately predict growth and supply impacts in Ka`u; 
• Fuels from this process using Hawai`i-specific feedstocks have not been made or tested for their composition, so it is not yet possible to anticipate potential impacts on HECO/HELCO infrastructure; 
• Impacts on the surrounding communities and local/tourist traffic from truck transport along Route 11 have not been adequately addressed; 
• Economics of the process have not been predicted and analyzed, which would provide the appropriate basis for establishing fuel prices for sales to HELCO; and 
• Demonstration by the technology providers appears to be limited to the South Carolina facility, which is rated at five tons per day but appears to have been operated for one hour runs at lower capacities more appropriate to lab-scale demonstration. 

      “While eagerly encouraging technology providers to offer demonstrations at commercially relevant scale and duration of technologies to convert lignocellulose material to fuels and other valuable products, commission should seek greater clarification of issues identified above before allowing ratepayers to be committed to a twenty-year supply contract at the proposed prices. To do otherwise is to expose individual ratepayers to prices that are high and may not be necessary or justified, and to obligate the state to a project that is not sufficiently demonstrated for this level of economic commitment.”
      See more of Matlock’s testimony as well as other testimony and documents at puc.hawaii.gov. Docket number is 2012-0185.

Atrazine cycling in the environment. Image from USGS

ATRAZINE LEVELS IN KA`U WATER SUPPLIES are low, according to reports from the county Department of Water Supply. In reports from 2011, Pahala water supply showed a level of 0.14 parts per billion, and the Wai`ohinu/Na`alehu water supplies showed no contamination. The maximum contaminant level for atrazine as set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is three parts per billion. No known or expected health risks to humans are proven below these levels, according to the EPA.
      Higher, but still-below EPA levels, were found in Hamakua water supplies. The reports say the source of contamination is “runoff from herbicide used on row crops.”
      Resolutions in the state Legislature call for the director of the state Health Department to establish a task force to study the effects of atrazine on human health. The resolution, introduced by West Ka`u Rep. Denny Coffman and others, says there is evidence that atrazine exposure is associated with low sperm counts and poor motility in exposed adult men and that pre-birth atrazine exposure is associated with low birth weight and abnormal development of the gut wall in infants. It also says the United States Fish and Wildlife Service acknowledges that atrazine may have potential adverse effects on fish, including organ tissue disease, disruption to the endocrine and olfactory systems, and reduced reproductive function.
      “Atrazine has been used for decades in Hawai`i to treat sugarcane, pineapple, and more recently seed corn,” and “rainfall sweeps atrazine into rivers and streams, threatening plant and aquatic life,” the resolution states.
      Another reason for the task force, according to the resolution, is that “the Department of Agriculture does not test for atrazine because of the lack of inspectors, and atrazine users are largely left to police themselves with regard to compliance with atrazine guidelines promulgated by the Environmental Protection Agency that limit spraying and require setbacks from water resources.”

DISCOVERY HARBOUR COMMUNITY CENTER’s rummage sale supporting the volunteer fire department continues today to 4 p.m. and tomorrow from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. 

THIS EVENING’S CONCERT at Pahala Plantation House featuring piligrass music begins at 7:30 p.m. Suggested donation is $15 to $20 for performances by Aloha Bluegrass Band and Keoki Kahumoku. For more information, call 938-6582.

HAWAI`I VOLCANOES INSTITUTE, part of the Friends of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park, presents Life on Recent Lava Flows with botanist Tim Tunison next Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. According to Tunison, the park, with two active volcanoes, may be one of the world’s best outdoor classrooms for learning about the colonization of new geological surfaces, a process that ecologists label primary succession.
      Program cost is $50 for Friends members and $65 for non-members. Student fees (K-12 and college with valid ID) are $25 for members and $35 for non-members. Non-members are welcome to join the Friends in order to get the member discount. Tuition includes a pictorial species identification handout and a PDF mini-book.
      To register, email institute@fhnvp.org or call 985-7373.

ALSO NEXT SATURDAY is Ka`u `Ohana Day, when participants explore Palm Trail at Kahuku Unit of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park by GPS and compass from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The free event includes lunch and cultural craft demonstrations. Call 985-6019 to pre-register.

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AT PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM. KA`U COFFEE MILL IS OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.

ALSO SEE KAUCALENDAR.COM AND FACEBOOK.COM/KAUCALENDAR.

Ka`u News Briefs March 15, 2013

`Aina Koa Pono would use pasture lands between Pahala and Na`alehu, clearing them and attempting to
grow biofuel crops. Photo by Julia Neal

CAUTION WITH `AINA KOA PONO is what County of Hawai`i urged this week in its submittals to the Public Utilities Commission regarding the proposed 20-year contract for the electric companies to purchase biofuel at prices higher than current oil prices. The county submitted testimony from witnesses with backgrounds in engineering, new energy development, start-up financing and agriculture.

         They pointed out that electric bills would rise and that Hawai`i Island residents, businesses and government already pay the utility company more than three times mainland rates; expensive electricity holds back economic development and burdens the poor. They said the AKP model could “crowd out” other less expensive ways to make electricity. They contended that more research needs to be done to prove the feasibility of the AKP plan to grow biofuel crops in Ka`u and to prove that a refinery can be built off Wood Valley Road near Pahala without risks to the community. They questioned the plan to use electric bills to “jump start” and finance the unproven AKP plan.

      Testimony came from the county’s energy coordinator, William J. Rolston. His background includes projects administrator and manager of the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawai`i Authority – the facility near Kona Airport. At NELHA, he facilitated projects involving solar photovoltaic, solar thermal, Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion and a net-zero energy facility with seawater air conditioning. He developed a micro-grid master plan for NELHA. Previously, Rolston worked as a director in charge of research for institutional and private investors on energy industry developments for Gilmartin Capital, studying renewable energies, as well as oil and gas supply and demand. At Gilmartin, he supervised 11 analysts on feasibility and investment potential of energy companies and projects. He worked at Janus Mutual Funds. He served as project engineer for Siemens-Westinghouse Power generation, providing technical support for wind, photovoltaic, solar-thermal and geothermal projects. Rolston has a degree in mechanical engineering and an MBA in marketing and finance.

William J. Rolston, Hawai`i County's energy coordinator, said microwave
depolymerization is an "unproven technology."

      When asked, “What have you concluded with respect to the reasonableness of the AKP Biofuel Contract?” the county’s energy coordinator responded that the AKP proposal “is not reasonable and should not be approved by the Commission based on its excessive biofuel price, long-term contract, unproven technology, lack of due-diligence, associated negative externalities (including ‘crowding- out’ of better alternatives) that will impact the community and environment for many years to come.”

      Rolston testified that “dramatically increased prices for electricity have been experienced by Island of Hawai`i residents over the past several years. These high electricity prices come at a time when the population is suffering economically, unemployment is at record rates and disposable income is shrinking dramatically. In response to these high prices, residents have cut back on their electricity use (as shown by HELCO statistics). Wealthier residents that are able to install solar panels, sign-up for net-energy-metering agreements and pay for energy efficiency measures are doing so at exponential rates. Unfortunately, the shrinking number of kilowatt-hour sales and residents that can; installing solar panels to opt-out of the cycle of high prices, puts the burden of the rising rates disproportionately on the low-income customers.”

Rolston said the burden of rising rates is disproportionately placed on
low-income customers who cannot afford alternative energy sources.

      He pointed out that “the County of Hawai`i Department of Water Supply, the largest single customer on the HELCO system (approximately five percent of Utility kWh sales), has experienced a total electric bill cost increase (23 percent per kwh over calendar year 2011); these costs are also directly passed on to water ratepayers.
      Rolston concluded that “this Biofuel Supply Contract, with it excessive price contract (if approved), would fall on remaining electricity ratepayers (that substantially pay for utility power) and negatively impact the lower-income population segment struggling for basic necessities.”
      When asked, “What have you concluded with respect to the public interest of the Biofuel Supply Contract?” the county energy coordinator testified: “Island of Hawai`i electricity prices are 35 percent higher than those on O`ahu and exceed the mainland average by more than 300 percent (through Dec. 31, 2011). Projects that could lower the cost for utility ratepayers could be “crowded-out” over the time period allowed for this experimental project, and the ratepayers would be burdened by subsidizing a biofuels technology that is largely unproven. Committing to a twenty-year supply contract that represents the largest contract for biodiesel on this island (16 million gallons per year), this contract effectively crowds out alternative, potentially more cost-effective and more proven biofuels technologies; ultimately undermining the future for the Island of Hawai`i ratepayers. Making biofuel price comparisons to short-term contracts already approved in the state that are experimental and blend with fossil fuels are not comparable to this long-term premium contract and the long-term financial consequences that can result from this large-scale unproven technology.”

      Rolston said that, “It is well-known on this island that electricity-related expenditures are a particular burden on low-income households because they cannot easily reduce consumption in the face of rising prices. Consequently, low-income households tend to spend a higher percentage of their disposable income on energy than other households. Hawai`i County (compared to Maui, Kaua`i and Honolulu Counties) has the largest population of low-income residents, the lowest median household income, the lowest median family income and the highest poverty rate in the state. Many of these ratepayers are struggling with their ever-increasing electric bills; this would add to that burden. On the Island of Hawai`i, low-income families spend more than twice as much of their income on electricity compared to the state average.”
      When asked, “What have you concluded about the associated externalities of the Biofuels Supply Contract?, the county energy coordinator testified: “County of Hawai`i believes that this large-scale project being placed in a small town setting has significant negative externalities,” and said they should be “further explored before deciding upon this project.
      “Externalities include: fuel spills or leaks associated with fuel storage or transportation of the biofuel, traffic congestion on the very narrow-curvy roads from Ka`u to Keahole Power Plant, a negative impact on tourism and future land use in the Ka`u area, roadway damage and increased noise levels. There is an overall quality of living for residents who live around the proposed project area or continue to be attracted to live there because of the small town setting. These are negative externalities based on the project’s success. There would be more negative externalities associated with the project’s failure including restoration of the area and environmental clean-up. The information we have to determine this project’s chances of success is based upon a large amount of unknowns, and failure is a distinct possibility.

Rolston said Hawai`i Island is fortunate to have geothermal
resources to create electricity.

      When asked, “What ratepayer risks should the commission consider in evaluating the Biodiesel Supply Contract? What quantitative or qualitative values should be assigned to such risks?” Rolston replied, “For the year ending Dec. 31, 2011, HELCO had already achieved an RPS penetration level of 49.9 percent, with 41.1 percent of its energy generated from renewable resources (on an hourly basis it has reached 69.5 percent and on a weekly basis has reached 51.6 percent). This exceeds the state’s Renewable Portfolio Standard goal of 40 percent (by the year 2030), and while we are proud of this achievement, it has come with a high-cost per kWh. HELCO's own statements attest that the HELCO grid has among the highest percentages of renewable energy penetration in the world, but with such high penetrations, the discussions should be moved to mitigating the high cost associated with that. Lower-cost solutions, such as the recently added eight-megawatt geothermal energy (not linked to oil), moves us toward a lower cost of electricity on an island fortunate to have this renewable resource. De-linking existing Renewable Power Purchase Agreements from oil (with the existing Independent Power Producers) on this Island should be a more productive course and less intrusive than constructing and experimenting with an unproven, high-cost biofuels technology project. Energy efficiency and demand response programs should be more cost-effectively and aggressively pursued, setting a more beneficial trajectory for an island that has achieved such high renewable generation. The most immediate ratepayer risks are pursuing this biofuels supply contract rather than more cost-effective paths to lower our utility rates.” 

      When asked, “To what extent, if any, will utility customers assume any economic risks, if the biofuel is not truly a ‘drop-in diesel’ or a substitute fuel or in the event that HELCO’s Keahole power plant must be subsequently modified, or operations altered, to accommodate biofuels?” the county energy coordinator testified: “If this project is approved, with its high cost and ratepayer subsidy, the utility customer should assume no further economic risks if the biofuel is not truly a ‘drop-in diesel’ or a substitute fuel or in the event the HELCO’s Keahole power plant must be subsequently modified, or operations altered, to accommodate biofuels. The decision to negotiate and promote the prior biofuels supply contract (PUC Docket No. 2011-0005) and this current one (PUC Docket 2012-0185) has been led by the utility.”

      When asked, “To what extent should utility customers be required to provide financial assurances for indigenous biofuel development, and if so, under what terms and conditions,” the county energy coordinator testified:
      “The role of the ratepayer is not to provide financial assurances for “jump starting” a local biofuels industry. At 40+ percent Renewable Generation on the Island of Hawai`i with its diverse, already-proven, cost-effective renewable resources, the utility customers on this island should not be required to provide financial assurances for higher-priced biofuel development. The ratepayer has already carried a high financial burden for supporting high penetrations of renewable energy they thought was meant to achieve lower-priced electricity on this island. At the highest electricity rates in the nation, the Island of Hawai`i utility customer is already burdened with enough financial liability. When biofuels and biomass projects can compete to effectively lower the cost of utility customer bills, we will consider those projects, provide support and help make them happen.”
      See more testimony from the county on AKP in tomorrow’s Ka`u News Briefs. The entire testimony can be read at www.puc.hawaii.gov. Click on `Aina Koa Pono and on documents to read the history of this case.

A HEALTH FAIR TAKES PLACE AT MILOLI`I tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for anyone to receive health screenings for blood pressure, diabetes, cholesterol and weight. Education will be on diabetes, women’s health, heart health and pharmacy. Family fun will include a keiki sport camp, Easter Egg Hunt, raffle giveaways and keiki crafts. The event is sponsored by the University of Hawai`i-Hilo College of Pharmacy PHI DELTA CHI Hawai`i Chapter.

DISCOVERY HARBOUR COMMUNITY CENTER holds its bi-annual rummage sale to benefit the volunteer fire department today and tomorrow from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

`Ukulele builders will be the youth this weekend, making their
instruments out of koa. Photo by Julia Neal

`UKULELE BUILDING WORKSHOP takes place today and tomorrow with about 35 students using koa to create their instruments. The workshop is sponsored by Center for Hawaiian Music Studies and is held at Pahala Plantation House.

TOMORROW’S CONCERT AT Pahala Plantation House features piligrass music with Aloha Bluegrass Band and Keoki Kahumoku performing at 7:30 p.m. Suggested donation is $15 to $20. For more information, call 938-6582.

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AT PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM. KA`U COFFEE MILL IS OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.

ALSO SEE KAUCALENDAR.COM AND FACEBOOK.COM/KAUCALENDAR.