Community groups on Lanai and Molokai that actively oppose the construction of utility-scale wind projects on the islands have stepped up their campaigns, buying air time on two Oahu radio stations to get their message out.

Friends of Lanai and I Aloha Molokai said Tuesday they will air a monthlong series of 60-second spots in January on KPOI 105.9 FM and KUMU 94.7 FM, sister stations owned by Ohana Broadcast Co. LLC.

"Inspired by the beauty of and threat to their islands, FOL and IAM want to educate electric ratepayers on the costs of this enormous, destructive and unnecessary plan backed by HECO (Hawaiian Electric Co.), out-of-state developers and (Gov. Neil) Abercrombie," the groups said in a news release.

The groups are producing two separate spots with the first focusing on the cost of the wind projects and a proposed undersea cable that would transmit the electricity to Oahu, said Robin Kaye, Friends of Lanai spokesman. The second spot will seek to address the cultural and historical impact of the wind projects, he said.

Kaye said the two community groups decided to take to the airwaves because they were concerned that the general public was not being fully informed about the impact of the various proposals.

"We not only wanted to highlight the financial costs of Big Wind, but the other costs that HECO never mentions: the loss of much of the last remaining untouched Hawaiian landscape," Kaye said.

The groups are using donations to pay for some of the air time, while the radio stations also are running some of the spots for free as public service announcements, according to Kaye.

HECO for several years has been seeking regulatory approval to buy wind power generated by private developers on Lanai and Molokai. The utility has suffered several setbacks along the way, including a ruling by the Public Utilities Commission last summer that HECO must reopen bidding for part of the so-called Big Wind project. The PUC issued its ruling in July after a developer withdrew its proposal to build 200 megawatts of wind power on Molokai because of community opposition.

Whereas HECO’s original plan was limited to wind power on Lanai and Molokai, the new round of proposals from developers has been expanded to include other renewable energy sources from other islands.

A plan to connect some Hawaiian islands via undersea cable to share energy generation still needs regulatory approval.