Four years ago, Gov. David Ige signed into law a bill directing utilities to pursue a path toward generating 100 percent of electricity sales from renewable resources. The clean energy deadline is still 26 years away — but that’s no reason to relax.
Hawaii’s only realistic chance of meeting the 2045 deadline, and shedding unwanted status as the most-petroleum-dependent state in the nation, hinges on steadily pushing hard to transition to a cost-effective and diverse renewable portfolio for the electricity sector.
But amid a push to expand wind power with the proposed Palehua Wind project — 13 turbines, each 260 feet tall — slated for construction above the Kahe Power Plant, there’s concern, among some Leeward Oahu residents and others, that the pace toward progress is too hurried. The concern, as it pertains to wildlife and impact issues, is a valid one.
The apparent threat that turbine towers and blades pose to native bats and birds should prompt a thorough review before — rather than after (as is the current routine) — the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) signs off on wind power purchase agreements.
According to a state report issued in 2017, five wind farms in the islands have killed an estimated 146 Hawaiian hoary bats over a span of six years despite a limit of 187 deaths over 20 years.
In the case of Palehua Wind, Hawaiian Electric Co. inked a power purchase agreement with the farm in November, which is now before the PUC for review. While the prospective partners have nailed down specifics such as expected customer kilowatt savings, there’s less certainty on risks confronting the endangered bat and other wildlife.
Late last month, the U.S. Fish &Wildlife Service weighed in. In a letter submitted to the PUC it asked the commission to “delay approval of any new wind facility (power purchase agreements) PPAs” until the project’s “proponents” meet with the federal agency and state wildlife officials.
The PUC should heed that request as it’s apparent that more front-end scrutiny of impacts linked to wind power is needed overall. So far, wind farms on Oahu — two are up and running and another is under development — are getting mixed reviews. There are also gripes about obstruction of views; and turbine gearbox noise can rob a neighborhood of tranquility.
Cynthia Rezentes, the Nanakuli-Maili Neighborhood Board chairwoman, has expressed resident-related frustration over Palehua Wind. “We’re being asked to have the (PUC) approve the purchase-power agreement before any information is presented to see whether or not placing that wind farm up there will be more detrimental than benign,” she said.
On the upside of wind power, the vertical operation requires less land than other renewable projects. And while some solar is limited by daylight, this option can be tapped 24/7, winds permitting.
It should be pointed out, though, that HECO is also seeking PUC approval for “solar-plus-storage” projects that can transfer power from the sun to batteries and onto the power grid. They could serve as a win-win for the environment and the consumer as power could be churned during some demand hours when the sun is not shining.
Still, wind holds potential to be among the most inexpensive options in the state’s emerging portfolio, which, in addition to solar, includes biomass and biofuel expansion as well as hydro- and geothermal possibilities.
Under the agreement, HECO would buy Palehua electricity at a “levelized” cost of 10.975 cents per kilowatt-hour, making it one of the state’s lowest-cost renewable resources. That’s encouraging, as is a reforesting plan for the 1,600-acre property on which the 2-acre wind farm would be built.
As of the end of 2017, HECO estimated that 27 percent of the state’s energy was coming from renewable sources. The addition of Palehua Wind would nudge the tally at a pace of 2 percentage points per year over the purchase agreement’s 22-year term.
But first, wildlife concerns must be well vetted and addressed.
