Michele Galimba of Kuahiwi Farms recently wrote about biofuels to be produced in Ka‘u:

Biofuels in Ka‘u

…To be blunt, there are big gaping holes in their business model as far as their agricultural/harvesting expertise. They really don’t know what they are doing, especially in respect to the actual physical costs of growing and re-growing biomass. It’s not something I hold against them very much. Ignorance of biological reality is rampant. On the other hand, ignorance does not inspire confidence. Is it okay for them to blunder into our neighborhood armed with a HECO contract, federal funding, and an amorphous plan? I really don’t know.…. Read the rest 

On the mainland, biofuel guys are paying $100 per ton for feedstock (which includes $45/ton of subsidies). But farmers in Hawai‘i are making $75 for a bale of hay now, each of which weighs 500 lbs. So right now, farmers are making $300/ton. The biofuel guys want to pay $100/ton.

Farmers would rather make $300/ton than $100/ton. Duh! Somebody will have to pay the farmers more.

On the other hand, geothermal is very straightforward. It is inexpensive, 7 to 10 cents per kWh, and it is steady. It does not emit greenhouse gases, it is proven technology and requires no subsidies.

We hope that for electricity generation, biofuels do not crowd out geothermal.

For each unit of energy in, biofuels yield 1.2 or less units of net energy out. This puts us in mind of Easter Island.

In comparison, for each unit of energy in, geothermal yields 10 units of energy out, and that will continue for as long as one can imagine.

With that sort of cheap, stable electricity, capital would rush here from all over the world. And everyone would have jobs!

It is estimated that the Big Island will be over the “hot spot” that gives us our geothermal for 500,000 to 1 million years.