Geothermal well ready to start up
By Christie Wilson
Advertiser Neighbor Island Bureau
Puna Geothermal Venture is on track to start energy production at a new well next month, just as demand for electricity in Hawai'i County reaches its peak.
• For recorded information on Puna Geothermal's daily operations, call (808) 934-9072; to reach a company representative, call (808) 965-8843.
The company announced it is conducting "clean-out" operations this week at its new Kapoho State 5 (KS-5) well, clearing the well of cuttings from drilling and "making sure the well bore is clean," spokesman Barry Mizuno said yesterday.
Updates on Puna firm
Puna Geothermal has a contract with Hawai'i Electric Light Co. to produce up to 30 megawatts of electricity using steam from groundwater heated by volcanic activity. Since its KS-11 well went out of service in April because of problems with a liner, the company has been contributing only 5 megawatts.
Once KS-5 is in operation, in about two weeks, Puna Geothermal will be back up to its contract level, Mizuno said.
The cutback in Puna Geothermal production, and problems and repairs at other plants have forced HELCO to operate on a thin power-generation margin.
The utility warned of rolling blackouts earlier this month and experienced a series of outages. The most recent happened Friday because of a failure at the Hamakua Energy Partners plant.
HELCO distribution manager Jay Ignacio said yesterday that having KS-5 back in action will "help make a generation shortfall situation less likely. Right now we have enough generation (to get through the peak period in December) unless we lose any of our larger units."
The highest demand for electricity generally occurs in the first two weeks of December, Ignacio said. There are a variety of reasons for this, including rainy weather in East Hawai'i that forces residents to use clothes dryers instead of hanging out their laundry to dry, extended holiday shopping hours, and the arrival of "snowbirds" — visitors from the Mainland and Canada who like to winter in Hawai'i.
Back at Puna Geothermal's well sites at 'Opihikao, about 23 southeast of Hilo, the company is converting the KS-11 well into a re-injection well to handle the hydrogen sulfide fluid that is a byproduct of geothermal power production. Then, a second new well — KS-6 — will be drilled, Mizuno said. Approval was granted last year for the drilling of additional wells.
