Winds of doubt are swirling around one Northeast-based wind farm developer with projects in Hawai'i. Newton, Mass.-based First Wind (formerly known as UPC Wind) has found itself one of the targets of an ongoing investigation conducted by the New York attorney general's office. ...The probe of is of special interest to island energy and business affairs, since First Wind has built and operates a wind farm on Maui and has designs for more farms on Moloka'i and on O'ahu. ...While First Wind enjoys a good reputation in Hawai'i, developments in towns like Cohocton provide a less savory picture of the wind developer. Which image will be believed may depend on the results of the New York AG office's investigation of the firm, which have not yet been released.

First Wind, a wind energy company that has pledged $50 million to help buy Molokai Ranch lands, is under investigation on the mainland for allegations of improper dealings with public officials and anti-competitive practices. New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo began investigations in July to find out if the company obtained land-use agreements with residents and public officials through bribes and submitted false statements for permits and during environmental studies.

At the Blue Ginger Cafe, several residents who talk about a plan for a major wind farm on Lanai are worried the new technology will lead to the end of game hunting on their island. "If they going to stop hunting, that's going to be a bad thing to do," said Sam Shin, a retired pineapple worker. "It's going to cause problems." Castle & Cooke Resorts LLC is developing a plan to build a 300-megawatt wind farm on its land in northwestern Lanai, an area frequented by hunters.

Plans to build the largest wind farm in the state on Lana'i are part of a vision to make the island a model of renewable energy, but the project is encountering some headwinds in the form of community concern. Not all Lana'i residents are pleased with the plans of David Murdock, the billionaire who owns 98 percent of the island, to develop a $750 million wind farm for exporting power to O'ahu via undersea cable. ...concerns about Murdock's plans led 32 Lana'i residents to sign a letter published by The Advertiser on Aug. 10 in which the author, Robin Kaye, questioned how the plan would affect access, the environment and whether it would benefit Lana'i residents. Murdock doesn't need a vote of approval from residents to develop the wind farm, but opposition could delay or derail his plans.

The company is seeking an incidental take permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and has prepared a draft habitat conservation plan and environmental assessment to minimize the effects on the endangered Hawaiian petrel ('ua'u), the endangered Hawaiian stilt (ae'o), the endangered Hawaiian hoary bat ('ope'ape'a), and the threatened Newell's shearwater ('a'o). Six of the seven 165-foot towers already have been built on land owned by Castle & Cooke. The company plans to build the remaining tower and operate all seven for a period of up to two years to collect data on wind patterns, according to permit documents.

A fire that started in an area above the windmills near Maalaea on Maui had burned approximately 95 acres as of this morning, according to state Department of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) officials. ...The fire burned portions of a threatened and endangered species habitat, but it is unknown if any species were affected. ...Wind farm workers used a 4,000-gallon water tanker to shuttle water to the scene. ...The cause of the fire is under investigation.

While everyone seems to want more sources of renewable energy on Maui, residents who spoke at a recent Public Utilities Commission hearing weren't too thrilled with the idea of having to help pay for it. Hawaiian Electric Co. and its subsidiaries, including Maui Electric Co., have asked the commission to approve an across-the-board monthly rate increase for each Maui County customer of about $1.80 a month for renewable energy infrastructure. ...MECO President Ed Reinhardt explained that this increase is necessary for the company to build the renewable energy infrastructure it needs to attract private investors and to build transmission lines and substations to sites that are always remote. "So if HECO selects remote locations why should we have to pick up the tab," said Rob Parsons, former county environmental coordinator.

A Maui wind farm operator has filed a complaint against Maui Electric Co. and its parent, Hawaiian Electric Co., with the state Public Utilities Commission. UPC Hawaii Holdings, which runs the Kaheawa Wind Power farm above Maalaea, is asking the commission to investigate the process the utility used in selecting a second wind farm project for the island. UPC Hawaii had proposed expanding its current 20-turbine farm, which supplies 30 megawatts of power to Maui Electric, to add another 21 megawatts of power. But HECO selected another project bid by Shell Wind for a farm in Ulupalakua on the east side of Maui. HECO spokesman Peter Rosegg said the decision was based on location.

Hawaiian Electric Co. is offering its data on wind conditions and bird activities in the Kahuku area of Oahu to anyone who wants to go into the wind-energy business. The utility spent millions to develop a wind farm near Kahuku in the 1980s, but pulled the plug after a series of technological and logistical problems made the project untenable.

In a letter addressed to MCSC President Glenn Izawa, Nicholas reiterated what he had said in a July letter published in The Molokai Times stating that the Ranch is not for sale. "MPL is utterly committed to the Community-Based Master Land Use Plan for Molokai Ranch with its resultant donations to the Molokai Land Trust, easement protections and implementation of all other aspects of the Plan," the letter said. "Because of our commitment to the Master Plan, MPL is not for sale."

"In addition to showing our support for the Ho'i I Ka Pono campaign, our pledge underscores our commitment to the people of Moloka'i and their efforts to determine how their lands will be used in the future," said Gaynor. "Once the community has regained control of the lands owned by Molokai Ranch, we will work directly with community members to lease a portion of the land to build a 21st century wind farm that will generate clean wind energy for Moloka'i and O'ahu."

The Molokai Governor's Advisory Council met last Tuesday at Kulana 'Oiwi Center to hear a proposal from UPC Wind. The company would like to erect windmills on Homestead land on the West End, and has been traveling to community groups all over the island for the past several weeks. The group says that it will not go forward with its proposal without community support of the project.

UPC hopes that the nineteen towers would eventually be part of an overarching plan that includes a total of 140 wind turbines on Molokai, most of which would be on the island's west end. ..."We don't want to be the ones on the back burner," one attendee said during a question and answer session. "Our electricity is high...We have the right to take care of our community." "Let Oahu build their own propellers," homesteader Hana Yasso said later.

The new wind farm on the Big Island's South Point is steadily producing power for Big Island residents. But it's not steadily shrinking local electricity bills...... But the wind power isn't lowering electricity bills even though it is locally generated, unlike the imported oil the state is so heavily reliant on. HELCO pays for the wind farm electricity by calculating the "avoided cost" or the cost the utility would have to pay if it were to build or generate power on its own. Lee said rates vary because they are tied to oil prices.

Soaring fuel prices and steady tradewinds are making wind the new oil in Hawaii. As wind companies scramble to gain a foothold across the state, Molokai Ranch land is emerging as a sought after resource. During a Hawaii State Office of Planning meeting on Molokai in late May, it was revealed that there are two wind companies competing for the build-out of wind farms on Molokai Ranch land.

A proposed change to the Big Island's zoning law that would allow construction of wind energy facilities in open zoned districts will be discussed by the Hawaii County Council's Planning Committee Tuesday in Kailua-Kona.

The discovery poses a clear challenge in the design and maintenance of a major windfarm proposed by Castle & Cooke for Lana'i. The company is working on plans for a $750 million field of wind generators that would ship power to O'ahu via undersea cable. Conventional windmills are cited by opponents of such structures as a threat to migrating birds. It is not clear yet whether it would be possible to site wind generators out of petrel flight paths, or perhaps to manage the windfarm in a way that warns the birds away from danger. On Kaua'i, researchers use radar to identify flight paths of ‘a'o.

Former Hawaiian Electric Industries Chairman Bob Clarke says the transmission of electricity from Lanai to Oahu by undersea cable is feasible because the ocean isn't as deep as on some other paths considered in the past. Castle & Cooke, which owns most of Lanai, said last week it not only has hired a Mainland company to build a solar power farm for Lanai's electric needs, but it is also seriously considering a massive wind power farm with the idea of selling the power to Hawaiian Electric for use on Oahu.

Castle & Cooke Inc. yesterday said it may build a $750 million wind farm on Lana'i that could provide 15 percent to 20 percent of O'ahu's power needs. The company, which owns 98 percent of Lana'i, is conducting wind and other feasibility studies in preparation for a decision on whether to build what would be the state's largest wind farm, said Castle & Cooke President Harry Saunders. "Our intention is to go forward," Saunders said yesterday. "We're hoping to have a ‘go' or ‘no go' decision by the end of the year."

With its ocean breezes, ample sunlight, pounding waves and a continuously erupting volcano, Hawaii seems blessed with the means to produce clean electricity and achieve energy independence. But that isn't anywhere close to happening. For one thing, the technology isn't quite ready. The big drawback with wind and solar energy, for example, is that the flow of electricity stops when the breeze dies down and the sun sets. Since there is no good way to store the power for use later, homeowners need conventional electrical service - meaning fossil fuel-burning plants - as a backup.