PGV Meeting 1/29/2015

[ironyak]

Originally posted by gypsy69
Any mention at this last meeting about the bids for the second plant that was to possibly go into Poihiki?

Updates on HELCO's RFP for 50 MW (now 25 MW) of additional geothermal:
http://www.hawaiianelectric.com/heco/Cle...-Proposals

If the new schedule holds, and any bidders meet the requirements, HELCO will wrap up their final evaluation and pick a bidder on February 14, 2015.

The RFP process has been a mess - ongoing delays from HELCO causing bidders to state:
http://www.hawaiianelectric.com/vcmconte...5-2014.pdf
"The delays and intervening events have called into question not only the integrity of the competitive bidding process, but the good faith and fair dealing of HECO/HELCO, in a highly regulated industry."

PUC ordering HELCO:
http://www.hawaiianelectric.com/vcmconte..._32101.pdf
"to file a detailed explanation of the corrective actions it plans to take to complete the Final Geothermal request for proposals ("RFP") processes in a timely fashion... Such action is necessary In light of HELCO's lack of timely, decisive action and urgency in completing the
bid evaluation and selection processes"

HELCO noting over-capacity on the East side for adding just a 25MW facility - "Preliminary results show that a new 25-MW base-load geothermal facility would primarily displace energy from Hamakua Energy Partners and Keahole but would also reduce energy purchases from PGV, wind, and hydro due to excess energy... There are periods where the entire 25 MW cannot be accepted on the system"

Finally HELCO came up with extra Best and Final offer step to add to the RFP process with the final bids having these requirements:
http://www.hawaiianelectric.com/vcmconte..._27_14.pdf
- 12 cents/kWh max combined bid price based on a 25 MW generating unit, Dispatchable between 7 MW and 25 MW.
- All Bidders must provide a Best and Final Offer based on a PPA term of 20 years.
- Combined Bid Price shall factor in the impacts of Hawai'i County Bill 292 (night-time drilling) and Hawai'i County Bill 129 (hydraulic fracturing). [including detailed plans for community outreach and communications]

[opihikao]

(*Apologies, slightly off topic)

State allowed monopoly. The grid is a dinosaur. HELCO should be able to accept the entire 60MG from PGV if they can provide it (geothermal baseload), and more solar (for individual homes, not hospitals, etc.).

Further HEI/HECO/HELCO should absorb the cost of improvement to the grid; they own it. Period.

With the sale/"merger" to NextEra, it adds a whole new dimension. The PUC better get a grip right now. We in Puna will suffer the most if they don't. Time to get involved. Again.


It pains me when the CEO, Constance Lau, will make over 15 MILLION on this deal, not to mention HEI/HECO has shown the highest profits in history off our backs. Ugh! Now I'm pau. [!]

JMO.

ETA: Wrong "Connie"...lol.[:I]

[leilanidude]

quote:

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Originally posted by gypsy69

Any mention at this last meeting about the bids for the second plant that was to possibly go into Poihiki? This new plant was to provide up to another 25 mW, maybe (county,state,helco,Ormat) feel they can get that added resource or mW power from this current plant with new and larger drilling production wells. Much easier to get this promised production from the current plant, than fight the public for another plant, at this time.jmo though. This new well being drilled has plans to be the biggest in diameter, over 12" yet while replacing maybe one of geothermals biggest production wells ever also.
The hurricane has had a very positive spin to Puna's geothermal of late. Maybe (Ormat) and fed $$$ invested more money into some better technology or are simply trying harder to stay clean and safe, since the hefty fines. We have not noticed the daily phenomenon gasses we were seeing regularly throughout neighborhoods like nanawale or leilani of late. The unusual smells and clockwork rains have all but subsided of late. Did geothermal get better generators, scrubbers, casings, transponders, lines, maybe after the hurricane? Many of my morning or evening drives now down and around the plant are amazingly less odorous with no signs of the low lying gasses that were often present before. Just giving credit when credit May be due a bit.

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gypsy - Those "daily gasses" you noticed were not, and are not, and cannot be, from PGV. They are from natural sources which include the current eruption areas as well as steam vents that exist all over this area. You really need to try and understand where it is that you live and what the natural environment contains here. Even if PGV never existed in the first place, you would still have all of those gasses and smells in the area.

[leilanidude]

The grid is a dinosaur. HELCO should be able to accept the entire 60MG from PGV if they can provide it (geothermal baseload), and more solar (for individual homes, not hospitals, etc.).

I agree that their grid isn't up to par, but I would rather they have a separate geothermal plant providing more of the baseload than just adding more capacity to the existing one, just for redundancy sake. It would be advantageous if there were 2+ geothermal plants providing much of the baseload, with each plant able to produce more if the other plant was off-line for any reason. (Even oil burning plants go off-line) The less oil we ship here, the less chance of a disastrous coastal spill.

[ironyak]

Staying slightly off-topic: The RFP documents show the potential conflict between the two premises supporting geothermal development as seen in the Roadmap and elsewhere.
1) Reduce dependency on fossil fuels for generating electricity.
2) Reduce electricity costs for customers.

The PUC appears to favor the first, focusing on their requests for HELCO to lay out plans for retiring their oil fired plants. HELCO emphasizes the second requiring new geothermal to actually deliver cost savings, which is challenging during the current period of very cheap oil.

There are short-term and long-term trade offs, but both can be said to be in the customers' interests. Have to see if a developer can resolve the dilemma and also is willing to be limited to as low as 7MW as HELCO sees fit.