Monday, July 16, 2012

Malu 'Aina: Shut Down Ormat (PGV) an Israeli Company

There is a worldwide movement to Boycott, Divest and Sanction (BDS) Israel for its treatment of Palestinians, similar to that applied to South Africa during the apartheid era.
Ormat, which owns Puna Geothermal Venture (PGV), is an Israeli company.
Hawaii should join the global BDS movement and Boycott and Divest from the Israeli Company – Ormat!

Malu ‘Aina Center For Non-violent Education & Action P.O. Box AB Ola’a (Kurtistown) Hawai’i 96760 Phone 808-966-7622 Email ja@malu-aina.orgwww.malu-aina.org

Geothermal Bills Still Alive

By TOM CALLIS
After being vetoed last week, two geothermal bills will get another chance Thursday as the Hawaii County Council votes on whether to override Mayor Billy Kenoi’s administrative dismissal.
Both bills were the product of renewed opposition to Puna’s geothermal plant and questions over the safety of the technology.
The legislation partially re-purposes the county’s geothermal royalties fund to allow it to cover public safety programs related to the plant, and mandates an emergency response plan for existing and future plants
In his veto message, Kenoi said the bills are unnecessary since it would duplicate the purpose of another geothermal fund and because the Big Island’s incident command system would cover a geothermal disaster. He also expressed concern with one of the bills preventing the county from selling homes it acquires through the geothermal relocation program.
County Council Chairman Dominic Yagong, who introduced the bills, said the move snubs the dozens of Puna residents who have called on the county to do more to ensure the nearly 20-year-old plant has no impact on health and safety.
He called the veto political (Yagong is one of Kenoi’s main challengers in this year’s election) and expects a large turnout of bill supporters at the meeting. Six votes are needed to overturn a veto.
“I truly believe that these bills were correct and we’re going to do our darnedest to make sure we do have our six votes,” Yagong said.
Kenoi did not return a request for comment by press time.
Recent council meetings have turned into marathon public comment sessions with Puna residents, both for and against the bills, speaking for hours to the council.
Pele Defense Fund President Palikapu Dedman said his group stands by the bills and will make its support known inside and outside the council chambers.
Dedman said PDF members will join geothermal opponents in testifying before the council and picketing that same day outside the county’s Hilo offices and possibly and state Department of Health building on Kamehameha Avenue.
“We’re bringing all that we can,” he said, adding that group members will also present Kenoi with a list of their concerns.
Dedman said he hopes to see at least 100 people picketing.
Thursday’s meeting will be held in Kailua-Kona, but those unable to make the trip can still speak to the council via videofeeds in Pahoa, Hilo and Waimea.
Dedman said he expects a lot of geothermal opponents and other supporters of the bills to testify from the windward side.
After spending hours testifying in past meetings, he doesn’t expect too many of them to be happy.
“After all those hours and days of testimony … with one stroke of the pen he shuts everybody off,” Dedman said. “That’s pretty bad.”
The geothermal bills aren’t the only legislation Yagong is seeking to revive.
The council will also consider on Thursday overriding Kenoi’s veto of a bill that Yagong introduced requiring the county to make payments into a county retiree benefits account.
Kenoi called the bill “ill-conceived” and “fiscally irresponsible.”
The county is deferring the payments, which the administration says prevents the county’s fund balance from being drawn down to unacceptable levels that would threaten its bond rating.
Email Tom Callis at tcallis@hawaiitribune-herald.com.

ORMAT Signs EPC Contract With ENEL for Cove Fort

Ormat Technologies signs EPC contract valued at $61.4 million with Enel Green Power North America for its Cove Fort geothermal power plant project in southern Utah.


Reported earlier here, Ormat Technologies, Inc. “announced today that its wholly owned subsidiary, Ormat Nevada Inc., concluded and signed the $61.4 million engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract with Enel Green Power North America. Under the EPC contract, Ormat will provide two air-cooled Ormat Energy Converters at Enel’s Cove Fort geothermal power plant project in southern Utah.

The parties have entered into an interim agreement in the amount of approximately $9 million to ensure timely completion of the project in April 2012. Now that the full EPC contract has been executed, Ormat’s product backlog announced May 8, 2012 increased by an additional $52 million to a total of approximately $260 million, most of which is expected to be recognized as revenues through 2013.

“This development will incorporate Ormat’s low-operating-cost design and our consistent project completion standards,” said Yoram Bronicki, president and COO of Ormat. “We’ve had great success in deploying similar equipment to a myriad of projects worldwide and we intend to continue reinforcing this track record in established and new markets.”

Source: Ormat release via Marketwatch

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Asia Pacific Clean Energy Summit and Expo 2012

The 2012 Asia Pacific Clean Energy Summit and Expo will be held at the Hawai‘i Convention Center, August 13 - 15.

The event is the preeminent meeting place for international leaders and energy experts at the forefront of the clean energy movement. Securing energy independence and developing a clean energy industry that promotes the vitality of our planet are two reasons why it is critical to reaffirm already established partnerships and build new ones throughout the Asia-Pacific region and the world. The Asia Pacific Clean Energy Summit and Expo provides a forum for the high-level global networking necessary to advance this emerging clean energy culture. Read our 2011 attendee testimonials at right.

For more info, visit: Asia Pacific Clean Energy Website





Saturday, July 14, 2012

Mayor Vetoes Geothermal Bills

Hawaii County Mayor Billy Kenoi
By PETER SUR
Tribune-Herald staff writer

A pair of bills relating to geothermal energy have died on Mayor Billy Kenoi’s desk, unless the County Council can engineer an override of the veto. Both bills generated tremendous public testimony prior to their passage by the County Council last month. Kenoi’s veto messages described both as unnecessary legislation.

One bill would have required the county Civil Defense Agency to prepare an emergency response and evacuation plan for geothermal facilities and to submit it to the County Council for approval by Aug. 1. The bill is aimed at people living near Puna Geothermal Venture. The bill would have allowed the administration to ask for a 90-day extension to write the plan.

Kenoi’s veto message for the Civil Defense bill states that first responders already have a plan for all emergency situations, including geothermal, based on the Federal Emergency Management Agency-developed incident command system.

“Since effective plans are already in place, there is no need for a new plan,” Kenoi wrote.
Council Chairman Dominic Yagong, who introduced both bills, said he was disappointed with the mayor’s action.

“In my estimation, that’s playing politics with people’s lives,” he said.

Councilwoman Brenda Ford said residents of lower Puna should have an idea of what to do in the event of a geothermal mishap.

“The community needs a plan on what to do, and they need guidance from the county on how to respond to a disaster,” he said. “You know, Plan A, Plan B, Plan C. That has not occurred, and I am supportive of that type of community evacuation plan being designed by the county and delivered to all the residents so that they know what to do.”

Ford said the county uses its incident command system “beautifully,” but “the average citizen hasn’t a clue what to do.”

A community evacuation plan would help in that situation, she said.

The other vetoed bill, which would affect people in lower Puna, would have renamed the Geothermal Relocation and Community Benefits Program to the Geothermal Relocation and Public Safety Program, although it’s popularly known as the “geothermal royalties” fund.

This bill would have redirected money from the community benefits program into uses that relate to public health and safety, including air quality monitoring and a public notification system. It would also have made eligible for relocation all homes within a mile of Puna Geothermal Venture.

“The thought that the county would not let us use money to determine what is making these people ill is the most egregious, lack of concern and compassion I have ever heard of,” Ford said. “These people are not making up these illnesses.

“Now, I do not know what is causing it,” Ford said. “They’ve got problems and nobody’s looking at it. … They’ve got very unusual illnesses.

Kenoi’s message to the council says the bill duplicates the purpose of the $2.1 million Geothermal Asset Fund, which is dedicated to funding public health and safety mitigation measures.

Kenoi also wrote that a “significant number” of people who have seen community benefits from PGV would like to see those benefits continue. But Ford said there were “far more people” who supported the bill than opposed it. She pegged the number of supporters at 60 to 70 percent of those who testified.

Kenoi wrote that the bill would result in lower tax revenues for Hawaii County by acquiring and holding homes from people who wish to be relocated, and liability issues that would arise from those vacant homes.

“It would be irresponsible for me to sign (the bill) into law due to its legal and technical flaws and because it is unnecessary,” Kenoi wrote.
But his critics think otherwise.

“Is he saying that health studies are inappropriate? Is he saying that the people of Puna are making these stories up?” Yagong asked.

Kenoi said that’s not the issue.

“The goals of protecting public health, safety and doing a thorough, comprehensive health study, we can already achieve through existing legislation and authority,” he said, and said the county was going to conduct a “thorough, open, transparent and community-involved study with health care professionals, independent researchers who have already inquired. … We’ll go to the community to address those goals.”

“We don’t believe this legislation is based on good science, good authority,” Kenoi wrote. “There’s too much ambiguity, and the first hurdle in signing any piece of legislation is a good law. And unfortunately this legislation has too many flaws.”

The County Council approved the evacuation plan bill by a 7-2 vote and the relocation and public safety bill by a 6-3 vote. Yagong has not indicated whether he would call for a veto override.

Email Peter Sur at psur@hawaiitribune-herald.com.

Source: Hawaii Tribune Hearld

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Early Industry Practices Brought to Light at Recent Hawaii County Council Hearing

Mililani Trask Brings Light to Early Hawaii Utilities Industry
Monday, July 2, 2012 - Hilo, Hawaii

Mililani Trask addresses the Hawaii County Committee on Agriculture, Water, and Energy Sustainability. Near the end of her presentation, she has brought to the Council Member's attention a few archived documents of early Industry between the utility companies here in Hawaii.



Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc. (HEI) of Honolulu, and Ormat Energy Systems Inc. of Sparks, Nev., Monday announced the execution of a Memorandum of Understanding to jointly develop geothermal power plants on the island of Hawaii. The parties said they hope to enter into a final partnership agreement by the end of October. Under the terms of the Memorandum of Understanding, Ormat will sell 50 percent of its subsidiary Puna Geothermal Ventures (PGV) to HEI subsidiary Hawaiian Electric Renewable Systems (HERS). Ormat will continue to be the managing partner for geothermal projects to be developed by the partnership.
 
PGV is the first company to receive necessary government approvals to develop a commercial geothermal energy plant in Hawaii. A 25 megawatt plant is expected to be operational by the end of 1990. PGV has a contract to sell electricity produced by the plant to Hawaii Electric Light Co., which serves the island of Hawaii. In addition to PGV's 500 acre power plant site, PGV has surface rights on another 10,000 acres in the Puna district of the island, with mineral lease rights on 4,500 of those acres. A small experimental geothermal power plant owned by the State of Hawaii has been generated in this area since 1982.
 
Hezy Ram, president of Ormat Energy Systems said: "We see a great deal of synergy in joining forces with HEI. Ormat brings 25 years of worldwide leadership in developing pollution-free power plants utilizing locally available heat sources, as well as the track record of developing and operating nine geothermal power plants, with two more under construction. "HERS, on the other hand, is uniquely positioned to assist the partnership in all matters pertaining to doing business in Hawaii."
 
HEI President C. Dudley Pratt, Jr. said HEI "is pleased to be an active participant in the development of geothermal energy in Hawaii. Ormat has an excellent record of environmental protection wherever it has built geothermal energy plants. HEI is committed to being a leader in renewable energy development in the state, and our agreement with Ormat supports this goal."
 
HEI's other renewable energy projects in Hawaii are windfarms on the island of Hawaii and Oahu. The Oahu facility includes the world's largest horizontal axis wind turbine now in operation, the Boeing MOD-5B.

Download Document: HERE

Volcano Watch: Can Geothermal Energy Development be Balanced with Volcanic Hazards in Hawaii?

(Volcano Watch is a weekly article written by scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.)
Puna Geothermal Venture. Hawaii 24/7 File Photo
For decades, the State of Hawaii has been trying to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. Energy from Hawai`i geothermal resources is but one of several alternate energy sources that have been explored.
In Hawai`i, geothermal resources depend on volcanic heat. Magma, stored in rift zones, heats groundwater which can be tapped by drilling. It is then pumped to the surface where its heat is extracted to drive electrical generators.
It makes sense that the most attractive geothermal target in the State of Hawaii is also the most active volcano—Kilauea. The nearly continuous supply of magma to Kilauea pumps heat into the geothermal resource, but it also fuels eruptions that could threaten structures on the volcano.
To make clear where future lava flows are most likely, Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) scientists published Lava-Flow Hazard Zone Maps as early as 1974, designating the summits and rift zones of Kilauea and Mauna Loa volcanoes as the most hazardous. For Kilauea, the summit and rift zones of the volcano also have the highest geothermal potential, so the Lava-Flow Hazard Map closely resembles the geothermal resource map.
Geothermal resources definitely exist on Kilauea, as established by the HGP-A pilot project in the 1970s. The Puna Geothermal Venture commercial power facility has produced 30 Megawatts (MW) from Kilauea’s heat, 20 percent of the annual electrical usage of the Island of Hawai`i, since 1993.
The most recent study in 2005 suggests that the potential of the Kilauea resource, excluding areas within national parks and state reserves, could be between 250 and 600 MW. Development of geothermal resources may also be possible on volcanoes with less frequent eruptions than Kilauea, such as Hualalai, Haleakala, or Mauna Kea.
If a resource of this size exists and is fully developed, the power generated from it would far exceed the need for electricity on the Island of Hawai`i. Therefore, the State of Hawaii is proposing the use of an undersea cable to link the islands between Hawai`i, the potential major energy producer, and O`ahu, the major energy consumer.
But what about the risk posed by volcanic eruptions? In a 1994 USGS publication (pubs.usgs.gov/of/1994/0553/rep…, HVO scientists estimated a high probability of eruptions from Kilauea’s lower east rift zone within any 50-year period. The publication also found a significant likelihood of lava inundation along the cable pathways linking the proposed Kilauea geothermal developments to the Honolulu energy grid, because the cable would have to pass across the northeast flank of Mauna Loa, Hawai`i’s other very active volcano.
These threats are real. In the last 200 years, eruptions have occurred three times in the lower east rift zone of Kilauea and six times on the northeast flank of Mauna Loa. The possibility of an eruption in the geothermal resource or state-wide cable path within any 50-year period is between 60 and 90 percent.
The effect of an eruption within a geothermal power development could be severe, and the site could be deeply buried by lava.
The power generated by the geothermal facility would be lost—possibly for weeks, months, or even years. The 1840, 1955, and 1960 eruptions in lower Puna continued for weeks to months. Power generation and transmission could not resume until after the eruption ceased, and it was safe to re-enter the area and re-establish the facilities and the cables carrying electricity away from the site.
With enough lead time before the eruption, however, much of the power-generation equipment might be moved offsite and saved for future use.
The effects of an eruption would be more profound as the geothermal power development increased in size. If a 500-MW power generation facility were developed within the lower east rift zone of Kilauea and power exported to O`ahu and Maui, a volcanic disruption would have state-wide effects.
As a community, we should explore all options in our quest for inexpensive, reliable electricity. There are down sides to the utilization of any energy source, and we must balance the negatives with the positives when making choices. This includes balancing the considerable benefits of geothermal resource development with the inherent volcanic risk of such development on active volcanoes.