Posted on: Monday, January 17, 2005

Wind-power plans pick up speed

By Timothy Hurley
Advertiser Staff Writer

After years of relative inactivity, efforts to harness the power of Hawai'i's blustery winds are getting a jump-start.

The developers of three major wind farm proposals are gearing up for construction, aiming to become operational before the end of the year. The move would increase the state's wind-generated power by more than 500 percent and provide enough energy to light up almost 20,000 homes.

Hawai'i is not alone in its wind-power rush. The American Wind Energy Association says scores of energy companies are pushing to install thousands of wind turbines in 21 states before a federal tax credit expires at the end of the year.

"Wind activity is definitely picking up," said Karl Stahlkopf, chief technology officer and senior vice president of energy solutions with Hawaiian Electric Co. "People are scraping like crazy to make sure their projects are up and running to take advantage of the credits."

These Hawai'i projects are expected to flip their switches in 2005:

• A 10.56-megawatt wind farm at Hawi by Hawi Renewable Development. The Chico, Calif., company is finalizing the purchase of wind turbines and other equipment. The project has Public Utilities Commission approval and construction is expected to start soon.

• A 30-megawatt wind farm at Kaheawa on the slopes of West Maui near Ma'alaea. The developer is Kaheawa Wind Power LLC, a partnership of UPC Wind Management of Boston and local partner Makani Nui Associates. PUC approval is pending.

• Apollo Energy Corp. is upgrading its Kama'oa Wind Farm at South Point on the Big Island with an array of new wind turbines. The existing 7-megawatt facility will increase to 20.5 megawatts. PUC approval is pending.

Nothing is planned for O'ahu yet, although HECO is testing the winds on the Leeward ridges above its Kahe Power Plant in hopes of developing a wind farm that would generate as much as 50 megawatts of electricity. If the utility ultimately decides to proceed, construction wouldn't start this year, Stahlkopf said.

In addition, Maui Community College is proposing a single wind turbine on its Kahului campus. The move not only would offset the college's energy costs but train students in its sustainable technology program.

Wind energy is not a new concept in Hawai'i. Twenty years ago, the state was a leader in the formative years of the alternative-energy field, spurred by lucrative tax credits. Back then, big wind turbines whirled on breezy hillsides of O'ahu, Moloka'i, Maui and the Big Island. One Kohala pasture was home to 198 turbines.

But most of those early wind farms, including a sizable facility at Kahuku, were equipped with first-generation technology that eventually failed.

Memories of those failures and the relatively low price of oil slowed wind's contribution to the state's energy mix. Hawai'i's complex permitting process didn't help, either.

But now, rising fuel costs and improving technology are helping to generate new momentum. So is the Hawai'i Wind Working Group, formed two years ago to encourage development here.

"We've got some of the world's best wind sites and plenty of potential," said consultant Warren Bollmeier, president of the Hawai'i Renewable Energy Alliance and a member of the working group.

"Its time has come," agreed David Koyle, founder of Hawai'i Pacific Wind, which is working on the Maui Community College project.

Last year, President Bush extended the production tax credits for renewable energy sources through Dec. 31, welcoming a new blast of ambitious wind farms across the United States.

But the effort isn't without controversy. Issues related to location, aesthetics, economics, transmission line logistics and potential climate effects are being used to block wind farm development on the Mainland.

Even some environmentalists who normally would be counted on to back alternative-energy projects are joining the opposition. Audubon of Kansas, for example, is fighting a project planned for the state's Flint Hills region, claiming it may threaten one of the few remaining stands of native tall-grass prairie in North America. The governor there put the project on hold.

In Massachusetts, several major wind-energy proposals have drawn fire from residents concerned that windmills would interfere with wilderness and wildlife or would degrade views from high-priced real estate.

Last month, Vermont banned large wind farms on state land. In New Jersey, acting Gov. Richard J. Codey imposed a 15-month freeze on offshore windmill projects and appointed a panel to study the issue.

In September, U.S. and Canadian scientists published a study that found, through computer simulations, that large-scale use of wind farms to generate electricity increases temperatures over land masses, although other researchers believe the changes would be relatively small compared with the climate effects of utility carbon dioxide emissions that would be offset.

Wind farms in Hawai'i aren't expected to get that large, but other concerns could emerge as more projects are proposed and developed.

So far, it has been clear sailing, according to Maria Tome, an alternative-energy engineer with the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism. She said she was amazed by how much support the proposed Maui wind farm received during a hearing a couple of years ago.

Stahlkopf said he's hopeful the renewable-energy tax credits will be reauthorized for next year, and he fully expects more wind farm proposals to come forward in the next few years to take advantage of some of the state's windiest locations.

"Unfortunately, 80 percent of the electrical load is on O'ahu, and we're not blessed with as many of the good sites here as the Neighbor Islands. Still, we are literally leaving no stone unturned to find other sites here that we can use," he said.

Reach Timothy Hurley at (808) 244-4880 or thurley@honoluluadvertiser.com.