News
Category:
Hawaii
A resolution urging the governor to seek alternatives to wind farms and the proposed undersea cable to carry power to Oʻahu passed unanimously in a joint hearing of the House Committees on Energy and Environmental Protection and Consumer Protection and Commerce on April 10. ...Joann Tool of I Aloha Molokai said that many islanders have been working to conserve energy for years and shouldn't have to bear the burden of other islands' consumption.
Castle & Cooke CEO Murdock appears to be moving ahead with Lanai wind farm
March 6, 2013 by Duane Shimogawa in Pacific Business News
March 6, 2013 by Duane Shimogawa in Pacific Business News
Sources tell Pacific Business News that Cultural Surveys Hawaii Inc., which does archaeological cultural and historical research and field services throughout the state, has been conducting archaeological surveys in the area where the wind farm is supposed to be built.
Also filed under [
General]
It was one of the biggest cases the Department of Health's Hazard Evaluation and Emergency Response Office has ever had.
But they left the air, water, and soil sampling in the hands of First Wind. ...Lawmakers aren't sure that should be the case.
Also filed under [
Impact on People]
No cause, no answers 7 months after Kahuku wind farm fire
February 26, 2013 by Brianne Randle in KHON TV 2
February 26, 2013 by Brianne Randle in KHON TV 2
Seven months after they started spinning, the Kahuku wind mills stopped because of a fire. ...under a 20-year contract First Wind could face sanctions if the project doesn't get going again.
Also filed under [
General]
Lanai wind farm opponents take their case to lawmakers
February 14, 2013 by Keoki Kerr in Hawaii News Now
February 14, 2013 by Keoki Kerr in Hawaii News Now
People opposed to building a wind farm on the island of Lanai are trying to keep the pressure up to kill the project and some of them took their message to state lawmakers in Honolulu Wednesday.Last week, the owners of Molokai Ranch ended talks with the developer that was trying to build a commercial-scale wind energy project on Molokai.
Also filed under [
General]
Lawmakers move to modify solar energy tax credits
February 8, 2013 by Associated Press in Star Advertiser
February 8, 2013 by Associated Press in Star Advertiser
Representatives in the House committee on the environment voted today to gradually decrease the solar energy tax credit to 15 percent by 2018. ...The credit is currently 35 percent of the cost of each solar energy system.
Gov. Neil Abercrombie says the current credit is fiscally unsustainable.
Also filed under [
Tax Breaks & Subsidies]
The owners of Molokai Ranch have backed out of plans to lease thousands of acres of land to a large-scale wind farm developer.
The decision likely spells the end for the Molokai portion of the Big Wind project, an ambitious plan to build about 70 wind turbines on both Molokai and Lanai and bring the electricity to Oahu via undersea cables.
Also filed under [
General]
More than 4,000 Hawaii Electric Light Co. customers were briefly left without power at about mid-day today when a North Kohala wind farm tripped off-line. ...Another outage at Hawi Renewable Development on Jan. 5 cut electricity to more than 6,500 HELCO customers.
Also filed under [
General]
Environmental groups sue over new solar rules
December 12, 2012 by Derrick DePledge in The Honolulu Star-Advertiser
December 12, 2012 by Derrick DePledge in The Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Abercrombie, however, denounced the Sierra Club.
"The Sierra Club is saying that they want to protect people who cheat. ...people are cheating and gaming the system and preventing other people from taking advantage of what is legitimately there to be done.
Also filed under [
Tax Breaks & Subsidies]
Fire at wind farm blamed on fire department’s lack of response
December 5, 2012 by Andrew Pereira in KITV TV
December 5, 2012 by Andrew Pereira in KITV TV
Honolulu Fire Department spokesman Capt. Terry Seelig was quick to counter Gotcher's assertion that firefighters failed to act in the best interest of the wind farm. He said the flames, toxic chemicals and unstable nature of the burning warehouse made it unsafe to use water, and deploying hand-held extinguishers was nearly impossible.
Also filed under [
Safety|
Structural Failure]
After fire, Kahuku Wind Farm fends off safety concerns
December 4, 2012 by Sophie Cocke in Honolulu Civil Beat
December 4, 2012 by Sophie Cocke in Honolulu Civil Beat
State senators pressed the developers of a North Shore wind farm on Tuesday about the safety of their technology in light of a major fire that destroyed their battery storage facility and sent toxic fumes into the air. ...The wind farm also experienced two previous fires that destroyed inverters after coming online in 2011.
Also filed under [
Safety]
HECO says Kahuku Wind Farm's battery storage system will cost at least $8M to replace
November 17, 2012 by Duane Shimogawa in Pacific Business News
November 17, 2012 by Duane Shimogawa in Pacific Business News
Hawaiian Electric Co. says its interconnection facility inside the battery energy storage system warehouse at the Kahuku Wind Farm on Oahu's North Shore, which was destroyed by fire in August, will cost at least $8 million to rebuild and take about a year to complete.
Also filed under [
General]
First Wind spokesman Kekoa Kaluhiwa tells KITV4 the cause of the fire remains undetermined, and it's not known when project might get back online. ...First Wind has abandoned plans to add five wind turbines to a parcel of land below the current wind farm footprint in Kahuku. The decision comes after the KCA voted in May not to support the expansion.
Also filed under [
General]
Mark Glick, energy administrator for the state, called the initial scope "a little bit shortsighted."
"When this effort, in terms of the programmatic EIS, was begun, it was originally targeted toward one segment of how we got to the 40 percent renewable energy, and it was two wind projects on two islands with a cable connecting," Glick said. "In hindsight, it's pretty easy for me to say that that was a little bit shortsighted."
Also filed under [
General]
Department of Energy analyzing range of options for clean energy
September 12, 2012 by Marisa Yamane in KHON TV 2
September 12, 2012 by Marisa Yamane in KHON TV 2
Initially, energy leaders focused on wind power and an undersea cable. But now, that's no longer the case.
"Based on the comments we got in the scoping period last year, we listened to those comments, we took them very seriously and basically they said you're not looking broadly enough."
Also filed under [
Energy Policy]
Xtreme Power works to rebuild warehouse after fire in Hawaii
August 26, 2012 by Kim Hilsenbeck in Hays Free Press
August 26, 2012 by Kim Hilsenbeck in Hays Free Press
Xtreme Power filed a lawsuit against Dynapower Corp., the maker of specially designed inverters that contained the defective capacitors. Vistica said Xtreme Power purchased them specifically for the Kahuku wind farm project.
Also filed under [
General]
Also filed under [
General]
Kahuku wind farm fire spreads concerns over future projects
August 4, 2012 by Tim Sakahara in Hawaii News Now
August 4, 2012 by Tim Sakahara in Hawaii News Now
Aerial shots over the Kahuku wind farm show the warehouse that was filled with 12,000 battery packs severely damaged and releasing toxic smoke and lead into the air. ...First Wind is supposed to submit a cleanup plan to the state by the end of the day which will include samples of the air, soil and water.
Also filed under [
Safety|
Structural Failure]
Firefighters were forced to fight a burning building without water on the North Shore Wednesday, when a battery warehouse at an Oahu wind farm went up in flames.
The battery warehouse caught on fire at the First Wind wind farm for the second time in two years. But unlike last year's small fire, the latest blaze shut down the wind farm's huge turbines.
Also filed under [
Safety|
Structural Failure]
Stubborn fire destroys battery building at Kahuku wind farm; Crews have been tackling the blaze since early morning
August 2, 2012 by Rob Shikina in Star Advertiser
August 2, 2012 by Rob Shikina in Star Advertiser
The fire started about 4:45 a.m. Wednesday ...Honolulu Fire Capt. Terry Seelig said an alarm sensor showed a buildup of heat, and video cameras recorded a fire starting in the battery banks. ...still burning about 4 p.m. and emitting various chemicals in smoke, which was blowing toward the mountains and not affecting homes.
Also filed under [
Safety|
Structural Failure]
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