07-07-2024, 12:46 AM
(07-06-2024, 10:40 PM)kalianna Wrote: Can you give this little inquiring mind a brief synopsis of where you stand on the current PGV situation and the future of geothermal..
My thoughts on geothermal..
When it was first proposed.. well, when Campbell first ganged up with the state and proposed major development, the plan was to start with 500 megawatts and an undersea cable to transfer most of that to Oahu. And, on top of that there was a proposed deep sea mining and Manganese smelting plant in Kawaihae that wanted hundreds of megawatts as well. Keep in mind the entire South Kohala coast was undeveloped, and instead of hotels some envisioned major industrialization around the harbor.
So, with no regards for the environment the developers were proposing wells right up to the edge of the National Park. Literally wells within 1,000 feet of Thurston Lava Tube. And, back then, reinjection wells as a way to contain the leftover brine wasn’t a standard, and other places on the planet had already been destroyed by the waste discharged, so yeah, I was pretty strong against that proposal. And in a soundbite kind of way that meant against geothermal. Although, specifically, I was against the plan as it was proposed.
We, our island, didn’t need 500 megawatts, and the undersea transmission cable by itself was a challenge at that time. But the challenges posed by the currents at depth in the ‘Alenuihaha Channel are another thing entirely. And turning Kawaihae into a major heavy metals industrial park that supported sentiment plumes raining down in our ocean as an excuse to destroy Kahauale’a and create a riot of invasive species on the border of the national park collectively encouraged me to become active against the proposal. And because the state and all the other players were biting off more than anyone could swallow we prevailed.
Since then? I watched True's failed attempt in the Middle East Rift because they couldn’t humble themselves and work cooperatively with HVO, and I watched the makai community, after insisting they didn’t care become concerned themselves, and I have watched the geothermal industry and the needs of the state evolve. And in a much saner, more natural evolution I have watched Ormat be a good contribution to our local needs, and prove the safety and cleanliness of their technology. And at this point I would support powering the entire state with geothermal.
I wouldn’t suggest that there is all that is needed to do so in Lower Puna, and I wouldn’t suggest running the people that want it to be otherwise out of the way to make it so. Even if everyone was out of the way Puna is not ideal in that it is unstable. But as we saw, in the face of incredible odds, absolutely incredible odds, PGV is standing, and serving us, peacefully, and at almost no cost. And I too hope they thrive, and expand. In other words, it sure looks like that’s where Pele wants them to be.
But geothermal's potential is not in Lower Puna. It’s the furthest away from where the power is needed, it’s already a bedroom community to Hilo, and it is an active volcano. Every one of those points suggest geothermal could not mature into a full blown industry in Lower Puna alone.
I have always favored what I refer to as the backside, the east side, of Hualalai. It’s nowhere near any development, it’s a direct route to the coast, and the best point to enter the water, and avoid the channel forces as much as possible. And, equally as important, it's a stable resource. But of course as soon as the state started looking in that direction someone put a stop to it. I suspect the major land owner in the area, Kam Schools, may have had something to say about it. But I don't know.
There are other areas, and an undersea cable need not be a critical part of having geothermal throughout the state. I don’t know specifics but have seen all sorts of variations on the technology advance over the years. To that end, and a good chunk of how this all got started was the work done by the Institute of Geophysics @ UH, of which geochem was a major player. Their initial work in identifying the geothermal potential throughout the state was published as a map in 1983, and can be viewed here..
https://evols.library.manoa.hawaii.edu/s...cd/content
And now, so many years later, there are reams of resources and many in map form. Here’s a really good list of them from the Hawaii Groundwater and Geothermal Resources Center..
https://www.higp.hawaii.edu/hggrc/projec...al-maps-2/
But yeah, overall, I think the gov should declare a major push to bring it online. We could actually reach our commitments to those kids if we do. And then, the thing about that brine.. In Iceland it’s a tourist attraction.