Governor Josh Green, JERA, LNG, and The Money Trail

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

people can just roll their own power solutions (solar = easy

It’s the ideal.  
When I first moved to Maui I lived in a house with 4 people and 6 1980’s solar panels, and deep cycle batteries.  There was almost always one person who couldn’t live within the confines of the system.  And blew out power for everyone.  Electricity is almost considered a human right at this point, and I think the on demand generating capacity is considered necessary for people who just want to throw a switch, click a button, and get what they want.  I don’t mind if they don’t get what they want, but politicians might not see that as a viable option.

[HiloJulie]

FYI, Hawai'i House District 4 Map vs Hawai'i House District 3 Map
Good luck Todd instead?

And worry not Jules, you can vote for anyone on the ballot they send you. It's always tailored to the district you are in. So you no need straighten out Tam or Todd or whoever.. No experience building consensus.

Dang, here I was just trying to goad the Tang into accusing me of voter fraud, but you two got me! Tam has MY VOTE. Of confidence. As for my need to straighten out Tam or Todd or Greggor or Keawekane, I have no need. We got the PunaWeb experts right here telling everyone how it should be done. And with no experience in virtually anything relating to governance.

The thing I see is a lot of talk, and an eye towards what kine talk will stimulate the masses, but no knowledge of the facts.

Well, that may be true, however, can you name anyone else who has come along and stimulated the masses with no knowledge of the facts? I seem to be able to put my finger on a few. Right here in Hawaii and right here in Puna. Ever listen to Joy talk?

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

Ever listen to Joy talk?

I received her newsletter the other day.  On page 2 there was a list of her accomplishments this last session.  Most of it was money for Puna spent for studies, designs, plans on projects that have already been studied, designed, and planned to death.  But never built.  

I would guess, but haven’t investigated, that almost all of that $ went to people not in Puna, with only one or two projects actually constructed for her constituents in Puna.


I found an online link to her newsletter - there is more project construction than on first reading, but still heavily weighted on the study and planning:

https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/MemberFil...letter.pdf

[Durian Fiend]

Julie - Good luck Tam! You got my vote!
FYI, Hawai'i House District 4 Map vs Hawai'i House District 3 Map

Good luck Todd instead?

Fiend - Green was correct that Roberts' now deleted report was "baloney".
So if the UHERO solar report (that is being reviewed and re-worked) is "baloney" then what is the LNG report that doesn't include the cost of LNG - spam? (and not even da kine spam, more like the inedible Spam Lite flavor) Maybe HECO can put out a report boosting their plans for their bio-fuel conversion project that doesn't mention the unique mix of costs for biofuels or their land requirements, and it can be called Portuguese sausage, and we'll have a full breakfast plate special!

Obviously simplifying the complexities of energy generation down to processed food equivalents is silly and juvenile, but I guess you got to meat the voters where they're at.

As the UHERO folks don't appear to be paid supporters for a particular project, you might be able to take them at their word that "we are correcting those [errors] too, in the open, because the standard is accuracy, not advocacy,” Roberts said in a written statement shared with HPR."

Or maybe they're all corrupt and on the take, as is the style of the time, and people can just roll their own power solutions (solar = easy; LNG/bio-fuel/geothermal/nuclear = a bit more tricky) and not have to argue over the best pork barrels-of-polluting-fuel project to endorse.

I agree that the LNG scheme doesn't look very appealing.  At least it's feasible, would drop CO2 emissions significantly and particulate matter almost completely from Oahu power generation.

[ironyak]

HiloJulie - Tam has MY VOTE. Of confidence.
Oh, I hope Tam gets a chance to take his ideas to the big city Mr. Smith style as well, with likely similar results. Puna isn't known for conventionality, why damage the brand now, and if you post on Punaweb, it's hard not to feel for those that tilt at windmills.

Durian Fiend - I agree that the LNG scheme doesn't look very appealing.  At least it's feasible, would drop CO2 emissions significantly and particulate matter almost completely from Oahu power generation.
If you think JERA's new LNG plant by 2030, that hasn't begun in any fashion, is feasible, then I have a rail project to sell you (it'll be quick and cheap, I promise ;) Meanwhile, that same 500 MW of generation is only 2 years of average solar deployment lately in Hawai'i. Imagine if we actually tried like Kauai's 2033 plan instead of looking for loopholes to the 2045 Decarbonization Commitment.

Edge - Geothermal, the needs of the many outweigh the imaginations of the few?
Regardless of what the local rabble says or does, PGV hasn't managed to provide its permitted power for much of its existence. Now they're making the big jump from 38 MW to 46 MW (ooohh, aaahh), while the latest new solar projects were 52 MW on Oahu and 30 MW on Hawai'i, both with storage.

IF, and it's a major if with how things are going, DHHL manages to move forward with geothermal, hopefully they find partners that can actually deliver the goods.

There was almost always one person who couldn’t live within the confines of the system. And blew out power for everyone. Electricity is almost considered a human right at this point... for people who just want to throw a switch, click a button, and get what they want.
Well hopefully when the batteries drained and the inverter flipped, you had some ukuleles on the wall y'all could pull down and sing along...

[Durian Fiend]

Regarding natural gas, this recent story highlights one of its major downsides when produced in the US. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/29/clima...wells.html

"...And there is something else buried deep beneath Marietta: Hundreds of millions of gallons of radioactive fracking wastewater.

For years, it has arrived in a caravan of tanker trucks that come night and day to deposit the toxic brine in injection wells that pump it thousands of feet underground, where it is supposed to stay forever.

But the brine is spurting to the surface, and locals fear it could soon contaminate the drinking water source for 32,000 people. “It would destroy the city,” said Susan Vessels, president of the Marietta City Council. “Once the damage is done, it cannot be undone.”...

...The fracking boom has transformed the United States into the world’s largest producer of natural gas. But fracking also produces huge volumes of salty wastewater laden with heavy metals, radioactive materials and cancer-causing benzene, as well as hazardous chemical additives from the fracking process.

Ohio became a destination for wastewater because decades ago, long before fracking, it received permission from the federal government to regulate its own injection wells, which were then just a small part of the oil and gas industry. As a result, today it’s easier to drill injection wells in Ohio than in states like Pennsylvania where there’s federal oversight..."

[Punatang]

JERA is digging in deeper.  Go Josh.  Let them write their own rules.  Good lookin' out, Brah.
  
http://www.ililani.media/2026/08/jera-re...large.html

On August 28, 2026, the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission received a letter from JERA Americas Inc. asking to join a technical working group that most of the public has never heard of. The letter is short. What it signals is not.

 

JERA Americas Inc. states that, after reviewing the filings in Non-Docketed Case No. PC-201715, it "respectfully requests to participate in the Large Generator Interconnection Working Group ... on a going-forward basis." The letter, signed by Vice President David Gray and dated August 21, 2026, was filed with the Commission on August 28, 2026....

...Adding JERA adds a developer with a declared 500 MW gas proposal to a group writing the review framework that its own project would eventually be measured against. That is not disqualifying; developers hold real interconnection expertise. It is a reason for the record to be transparent about who is shaping the framework and what interest each participant carries.


...More at link.

...

[HiloJulie]

Thanks for posting Tangy!

I've never read a more in favor of something article that tries so hard at trying to make that something into a nefarious bad thing than this one!

It's a damn good idea!

[Punatang]

Thanks for your thanks Julsiewoolsie!

There is no surprise in the fact that you think Boomer driven Crony Capitalism is a great idea.  

It definitely helps reduce corruption, right?

Please see Ironyak's extreemely astute missive from yesterday:

Privatize the profits while externalizing the costs, even onto your children - it's the American Way!

[HiloJulie]

There is no surprise in the fact that you think Boomer driven Crony Capitalism is a great idea. 
It definitely helps reduce corruption, right?

LOL Tangy Tang Tang!

You make it sound like ole Josh issued a no bid contract to one of his boomer donor buddies, then gave him a 1000% increase to the contract value as a change order!

Yeah, by all means, no Crony Capitalism or corruption whatsoever! Won't anybody think of the children?