Settlement may clear way for HELCO to finish project
By Kevin Dayton
Advertiser Big Island Bureau
HILO, Hawai'i — The Big Island's Hawai'i Electric Light Co. may finally be able to complete construction of its long-delayed Keahole Generating Station expansion under a settlement announced yesterday, with Helco agreeing to install expensive new technology to reduce the air pollution generated by the plant.
The settlement is a major step toward ending a 10-year legal fight over the $100 million power plant expansion that opponents waged in Circuit Court, at the state Supreme Court and before state and federal regulatory agencies.
"The question was, what would continued litigation give us and what would a settlement give us, and we concluded we could get more out of a settlement than with continued litigation," said Michael Matsukawa, lawyer for project opponents who formed a group called the Keahole Defense Coalition.
Matsukawa said a turning point came earlier this year when the state Supreme Court ruled that HELCO has a legal permit to expand the plant near Kona International Airport. That meant the primary issues left to decide were the terms under which HELCO could build the plant, Matsukawa said.
Under the settlement, HELCO agreed to install equipment and other measures worth $21million to reduce noise and pollution generated by the plant.
HELCO President Warren Lee said that includes installing a selective catalytic reduction system in the second phase of the plant expansion to reduce emissions of the pollutant nitrogen oxide.
Matsukawa said the emissions-reduction system reduces nitrogen oxide emissions by as much as two-thirds, and said HELCO also agreed to limit the noise generated by the plant to the 45- to 55-decibel range.
HELCO also agreed to use non-potable groundwater for plant operations, and will deliver to the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands potable water that HELCO had intended to use for the plant.
The two sides were in court in Kona yesterday asking Judge Ronald Ibarra to vacate his 2002 order that halted construction on the plant expansion.
Opposition noted
Waimana Enterprises, a company vying for permission to build its own power plant in the Kona area, is opposing the settlement.
Al Hee, president of Waimana, said the agreements in the settlement go far beyond the issues raised in the lawsuit pending before Ibarra and that the public should be given time to study the agreement before the judge sanctions it.
For example, Hee said reducing noise would require large new buildings to contain the sound. Reducing emissions under those conditions would require taller smokestacks, or multiple stacks, he said.
But Hee said the agreement does not spell out the height or numbers of the stacks, or the size and number of the buildings.
"If it is truly for the public good, (the public) ought to have an opportunity to look at it before it is accepted," Hee said of the settlement.
Ibarra promised to issue a written ruling on the matter tomorrow, Lee said.
If Ibarra allows the project to proceed, Lee said the utility could have its two new combustion turbines ready for operation in six to eight months, although it might take until the end of next year to obtain necessary permits and meet other terms of the settlement.
The Keahole plant can generate about 30 megawatts, and the addition of the turbines will add another 22.5 megawatts of capacity, Lee said. A megawatt is enough electricity to power about 1,000 homes.
Second phase planned
A second phase of the Keahole expansion would involve installing a steam turbine and heat-recovery system to generate electricity from waste heat. That is expected to take another four to six years to complete, Lee said.
It is the first phase of the project, which is about 85 percent complete, that will cost about $100 million. Lee said he does not have an estimate for the cost of the second phase.
When the second phase is finished, the plant would have a generating capacity of about 68 megawatts, Lee said.
Matsukawa said plaintiffs — the Keahole Defense Coalition, Peggy J. Ratliff, Mahi Cooper and the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands — agreed to the terms of the settlement after mediation that began in February.
Reach Kevin Dayton at kdayton@honoluluadvertiser.com or (808) 935-3916.
