Richard Ha writes:
I was surprised to see that both HB106 AND HB932 were killed.
The Big Island Community Coalition supported both bills. Both addressed geothermal development and included County home rule provisions, mediation and permitted geothermal development where wind and solar are allowed.
It appears to me that the choice was either “institute geothermal subzones” or “kill the bill.” So in the end, County home rule did not seem to be the most important issue.
It seems this state is still not serious about kicking the fossil fuel habit. I just wrote a response to the Herald’s stupid THEIR VIEW article putting down electric cars which tangentially mentions geothermal. It is long but I hope the print it.
Aloha Rico
I’m looking forward to it. It is important what you did.
Mahalo
Richard
Hawaii county could have been a model of sane geothermal development and held a leadership position for the state but totally blew it, to the point now, it is going to have less influence at the state level. The histrionics went way over the chicken-little, mountain out of a mole hill level, to the end of the world frenzy. Personally, just glad that geothermal island politics has no political hay anymore. These plants aren’t going to pop up out of the ground overnight like Richard’s bananas. It is going to be 4 years before this next 50MW is in place. New ones beyond that are towards the end of the decade, at the earliest.
It might work out though. Electric cars will be more mainstream in 4 to 5 years. They might not ever gain wide acceptance on the mainland, with the large distances involved, but Hawaii, and Hawaii island in particular, is very suited for electric cars as commute vehicles. Don’t who is exactly behind the fuel cell buses for Volcano and the hydrogen tanks being filled at the PGV facility, but that is a good direction to be going also.