Honolulu City Council addresses Kahuku Windfarm fiasco

The Honolulu City Council passed a comprehensive, 280-page, overhaul of the Land Use Ordinance (LUO). Bill 64 (2023) CD2 FD2 passed the city council 8-1 on December 11, 2024.

“The purpose of this article is to identify the permissible land uses in the various zoning districts and the conditions in which they may be conducted. Development standards and uses restrictions are imposed on certain uses in order to mitigate and prevent disruptive community impacts that might otherwise result if these specially regulated uses were permitted without restriction.”

All communities must work together to achieve a 100% low climate impact renewable energy future, that includes the electrification of transportation and meets the growing energy needs of the information age. Costs and benefits must be shared.

The watershed event of how not to do it is the Na Pua Makani windfarm in Kahuku. Approved by the Public Utilities Commission, the developer worked in secret with the county to move a few turbines right up against the community. This launched protests and the current efforts towards energy equity.

Bill 64 defines three sizes of wind turbines. Small wind turbines are less than 15 kilowatts (kW). A medium wind turbine is 15-99 kW. A large wind turbine is 100 kW (0.1 megawatts) or larger.

"Height is measured from the farthest vertical extension of the tower, which includes the height of the tower or its vertical support structure and the farthest vertical extension of the blade tip from the tower.”

“A small wind energy generation facility must be set back from all property lines at a minimum distance equal to the height of the facility." 

Medium turbines must be located in the agricultural, country, industrial, or industrial mixed-use zoning districts.

“Large wind energy generation facilities are not permitted in the preservation, residential, apartment, apartment mixed-use, business, business mixed-use, resort, industrial, and industrial mixed-use zoning districts.”

“Large wind energy generation facilities must be set back as follows: (i) From all property lines a minimum distance equal to the height of the facility; and (ii) From the property lines of any zoning lot located in the country, residential, apartment, apartment mixed-use, or resort zoning districts, a minimum distance of 10 times the height of the facility or 1 .25 miles, whichever is greater.”

“No portion of a large wind energy facility may cause more than 10 hours per year or 10 minutes per day of shadow flicker on existing occupied buildings.”

“During normal operation, facility noise levels may not exceed 10 dBA above ambient sound levels at existing occupied buildings.”