02-11-2016, 07:40 PM
Ormat probably could meet the pricing threshold but probably there wasn't enough profit to put in a new plant. The new plant was to meet state alternative energy goals but there probably wasn't the actual need for more power coming out of Puna, as has been known for years. There is still enough uncertainty with the lava flow to prevent any big dollar industrial investment that would use so much extra power. If PGV is producing 38MW, all of south Puna uses only about 9MW at peak load. That means 29MW is being sent north to Hilo. That is still enough to start phasing out the Puna oil power plant and HELCO may be running the numbers to show it would be worth it to convert that plant to LNG. The Nextera merger is also putting everything on hold.
This seems to be part of a general withdrawal happening. The hospitals laying off, doctors leaving the island, major development pulling out, at least for the east side. There wasn't a whole lot of any rational sense to what the PCDP was hallucinating in 2010, especially in light of 2016. A lot of people in south Puna want to return to 1100 AD, so maybe they get their wish.
"Aloha also means goodbye. Aloha!"
This seems to be part of a general withdrawal happening. The hospitals laying off, doctors leaving the island, major development pulling out, at least for the east side. There wasn't a whole lot of any rational sense to what the PCDP was hallucinating in 2010, especially in light of 2016. A lot of people in south Puna want to return to 1100 AD, so maybe they get their wish.
"Aloha also means goodbye. Aloha!"
*Japanese tourist on bus through Pahoa, "Is this still America?*