12-29-2007, 02:28 PM
My modest grasp of vulcanology and geothermal power is that all volcanoes are not created equal; as for steam vents, geothermal uses, etc. Such that, for example, what Iceland does is not necessarily feasible here. Anyone know something? btw: please, it really is better to let facts get in the way of a good story...
About PGV's 30 mw. It is max 20% of the island's electricity; 'renewables' (incl. PGV, Hawi and S. Pt. wind, and a few small hydro plants on Wailuku River) are about one third of island's electricty.
Big problem: more electricity generated East Hawaii than used East Hawaii; and more electricity used West Hawaii than generated West Hawaii. The line losses in sending that juice across the island cut into efficiency real bad like.
New Zealand:
We will be there next week (2 Jan - 22 Jan), on N. Island.
Have to have a look at Rotorua (we'll be going through there at least once)!
btw: also, New Zealand is at forefront of Zero Waste and we will be learning lots. And, forage-based dairy production is actually at the top of my list...much for Hawaii to learn from New Zealand ... more than from California or anywhere else in North America, perhaps?
About liquid fuels: for electricity? No.
Solar, wind, hydro, and geothermal (in that order) are lower impact and readily available for stationary power generation -- on a grid, yes; but, also in distributed/on-site electricty generation (we've got solar PV net metering on our house).
The market for liquid fuel is transportation / mobile machinery. Think farming, fishing, forestry... tractors, boats, trucks, and other mobile utility vehicles used for power, not speed, distance, or commuting. Besides, all of these machines use diesel fuel now and, to an extent not greatly apreciated, it may well be the machines we now have that we will need to rely heavily on for some years to come. Geothermal electric transportation might happen, and I hope it does. Nobody I've heard discuss it has come close to connecting the dots from here to there, when 'there' is any sooner than 30 to 50 years from now. In less than 8 years from now, we expect to have island-grown liquid fuel ready to use.
James Weatherford, Ph.D.
15-1888 Hialoa
Hawaiian Paradise Park