01-21-2010, 05:01 AM
Couple of points: "There is only so much steam down there" Actually, on an active volcano, I tend to believe that the ability to generate steam is unlimited. Secondly, with regard to the State's 'mineral rights', it would appear to be a no brainer to challenge their definition of 'mineral' in court. Certainly H2O (water) is NOT a mineral, although it may contain trace minerals which could be subject to tax if the issue was pushed to the ridiculous.
If there was to be a company formed to develop electricity by geothermal means, the tax paid by such company would surely offset any quibbles regarding mineral rights. As a side question, does the State tax the use of seawater by the Energy Lab on Konaside? I see no difference between using the thermal differences of differing layers of seawater to generate electricity and the use of steam and then returning hot water to the earth. Neither one uses up the water, so there is no provable loss to the State. In much the same way, generating electricity by diverting falling water through a pipe then returning it to the river does not use up water, merely harnesses the free fall energy to power a turbine.
If there was to be a company formed to develop electricity by geothermal means, the tax paid by such company would surely offset any quibbles regarding mineral rights. As a side question, does the State tax the use of seawater by the Energy Lab on Konaside? I see no difference between using the thermal differences of differing layers of seawater to generate electricity and the use of steam and then returning hot water to the earth. Neither one uses up the water, so there is no provable loss to the State. In much the same way, generating electricity by diverting falling water through a pipe then returning it to the river does not use up water, merely harnesses the free fall energy to power a turbine.