02-21-2016, 12:02 PM
One generator was down and needs major repairs, another went down suddenly, the winds changed direction and it was being reported the wind farms stopped producing output. The Puna oil plant in mothballs has been restarted.
In these pre-peak years, there is the opportunity to convert over to alternative energies. This is in face of the economics where oil electricity will be competitive with hydroelectric, making wind and solar much more expensive. At this point, it benefits HELCO to bring the Puna oil plant back full time. That thing produces huge amounts of SO2. It helps HELCO a lot to maintain the status quo if the Nextera is retracted, which sounds like any day, they don't have to deal with higher cost power producers like solar, plus they are paying out a lot less for oil. Might be a lot of employment fluctutations.
"Aloha also means goodbye. Aloha!"
In these pre-peak years, there is the opportunity to convert over to alternative energies. This is in face of the economics where oil electricity will be competitive with hydroelectric, making wind and solar much more expensive. At this point, it benefits HELCO to bring the Puna oil plant back full time. That thing produces huge amounts of SO2. It helps HELCO a lot to maintain the status quo if the Nextera is retracted, which sounds like any day, they don't have to deal with higher cost power producers like solar, plus they are paying out a lot less for oil. Might be a lot of employment fluctutations.
"Aloha also means goodbye. Aloha!"
*Japanese tourist on bus through Pahoa, "Is this still America?*