Category Archives: Geothermal

Biofuel, Geothermal, Renewable Energy Sources

Geothermal Is Our Best Choice

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Back on November 16, I attended a workshop to review work plans being considered by the Hawai‘i Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Task Force to recommend to the legislature at year’s end.

I was struck by the fact that geothermal was not chosen as an alternative. Geothermal has no greenhouse gas emissions, and it results in lower electricity rates.

Why was it not included?

The utilities plan to transition to biofuels instead of continuing to use fossil fuels, but consider this: Biofuels involve farming. At today’s prices, a farmer would get 6 cents per pound for growing jatropha or palm oil. They obviously would not do it for that price. When oil is at $200 per barrel, they would get 18 cents per pound. Still not enough. I believe farmers might become interested when biofuel feed stock pays 24 cents per pound, which is the equivalent cost of $270 per barrel oil.

So we can probably assume that we would not see very much local biofuel farming in the near future. Instead, the biodiesel would probably come from Indonesia. It would be certified as eco-friendly by a third-party, green organization. Whether or not the oil is brown or green, though, the bottom line is that it will be costly.

The legislation requires that adverse effects on small businesses be considered. It is fair to say that fossil fuel costs will rise and, therefore, electricity rates will rise too. When oil hit $147 last summer, it was disastrous for small business folks.

On the other hand, the estimated break-even price of geothermal is approximately $57 per barrel and it will stay stable for as long as we can see.

Why is geothermal not being considered?

I submitted the following comments:

My name is Richard Ha. I am testifying on behalf of myself and the 60-plus employees who work with us at Hamakua Springs Country Farms at Pepeekeo, here on the Big Island.

Why is geothermal energy not considered?

  1. Geothermal energy does not give off any greenhouse gas emissions.
  2. Geothermal energy has an Energy Return on Investment (EROI) ratio of 10 to 1—and, unlike fossil fuels and bio fuels, the EROI will not decline in the future.
  3. Geothermal breaks even at an oil price equivalent of $57 per barrel.
  4. It is available in abundance on the Big Island.
  5. Unlike 20 years ago, there is only a handful of opponents.
  6. Unlike the other two alternatives for base power—fossil fuel and biofuel—geothermal is much cheaper.
  7. There will be a huge benefit to small businesses if geothermal is sourced right here on the Big Island. It will give the Big Island a competitive advantage to the mainland at some future time.
  8. The EROI for geothermal is 10 to 1 and will never decrease; unlike oil, which was at 100 to 1 in the 1930s. It is in the 10-15 to 1 range today. It will steadily decline — that is not in dispute. How soon will it hit 3 to 1 is the issue.
  9. Since geothermal is base power, we can potentially source up to 80% of HELCO’s power from this source. On the other hand, wind and solar can be depended upon for only 20% or so.
  10. Because geothermal is the cheapest source of base power, it will have the biggest positive effect on discretionary income for lower income folks.
  11. Choosing the high cost alternative for base power will send a message that the utility does not care about the situation of the lower income folks. And, the native Hawaiian community.

EROI is calculated in energy units, not dollars. It gives one a sense of direction and causes us to  question solutions that have low or declining EROIs. For example, shouldn’t we question biofuels as a solution when the EROI is less than 2 to 1?

I recommend that EROI should be included in all energy studies. It is a fundamental shortcoming of this study.

In the 1930s, we got 100 barrels of oil from the energy in one barrel of oil. In the 1970s, we got 30 barrels from one barrel. Now, we get 10 barrels from the energy equivalent of one barrel of oil.  This is understandable, and it will continue to go down as oil becomes more and more difficult to access. At some point before the last drop of oil is sucked from the ground, the EROI will be 1 to 1 and there will be no point in going further.

Charles Hall authored a paper: What is the minimum EROI that a sustainable society must have?  In it, he says that the EROI ratio must be no less than 3 to 1 in order to maintain a sustainable society.

Fossil fuel oil EROI is approximately 10 to 1 and dropping steadily, while geothermal is 10 to 1 and will not decline further. Bio fuels have an EROI of less than 2 to 1. Clearly, geothermal is the best choice.  

Aloha,
Richard Ha

Community, Food Security, Geothermal, Peak Oil, Renewable Energy Sources, Schools, Sustainability

Surviving Without Sacrificing Values

A couple years ago I gave a speech to the graduating class of the Hawai‘i Community College. I talked about survival. I told them stories that my Pop told me when I was a small kid. And how they could make short-term decisions without sacrificing their long-term core values. It was very well received and it was good fun.

That was in May, 2007. That October, I went to the Association for the Study of Peak Oil (ASPO) conference in Houston. There I learned that world oil supplies are depleting faster than new discoveries are coming online. And that there are fewer giant oil fields being discovered, and that the world’s population was increasing at the rate of 70 million new people a year.

This was important information and, although not complete, it was enough to make me start to position our farm for five and 10 years in the future. If we were wrong? No harm, no foul. If we were right, we would be survivors.

After that conference, I could think of three things that would help the Big Island move in that direction, too.

The first was to let people know they were not alone. The E Malama ‘Aina sustainability Festival would help do that.

The second thing was to help get the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) sited on Mauna Kea. This would help to lift up and educate our keiki and future generations. And, it would provide a safe, steady income and stabilize our economy.

The third was to get as much geothermal energy as possible into HELCO as base power. It is the cheapest source of renewable energy and the discretionary income saved would benefit the low income folks, since they were the ones who would get their lights turned off first. It would also benefit the island’s small businesses, because their customers would have money to spend. That is what I mean when I go around saying: “If the most defenseless among us are safe, we are all safe.”

All of these things could be done without sacrificing our core values. We just need to do the right things, local style. We need to take our time and go talk story. If the folks believe that we have their and their keikis’ well-being foremost in our minds, then we can all go do this together.  It’s not rocket science!

By the way, I went to the ASPO conference again last month in Denver – yet again, the only person from Hawai‘i to attend. After that conference, I am more convinced than ever that we are moving in the right direction.

It’s the same as what I told the graduating HCC students – about survival, and about making short-term decisions without sacrificing our long-term, core values.

Geothermal, Peak Oil, Renewable Energy Sources

Geothermal Aloha

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Did you know that geothermal energy is one of the cheapest sources of renewable energy? On top of that, it is steady power – just what the electric utilities need to be able to deliver dependable service. This Wall Street Journal blog post compares different renewable energy sources, and says that geothermal’s break-even point is when oil hits $57 per barrel.

Oil is close to $80 per barrel now. This means that if most of our electricity were coming from geothermal now, our electricity and water rates would hardly rise from here forward – while who knows where oil could take us.

We need to get off oil.

This Hawaii Business article, titled Big Island Big Ideas, with the subtitle “Local leaders chart six ways to revitalize the economy,” takes an optimistic point of view, and that is important.

We must realize, though, that the world has changed because of rising oil prices. We must be wise enough to take every opportunity to prepare our keiki for a future that is going to be very different from our past. If we take the long-term view, and focus on where we need to go, we can all get there together.

The Hawaii Business article discusses the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT). We believed in and followed the process Judge Hara directed us to follow in developing a Comprehensive Management Plan for the care of Mauna Kea. And if, subsequently, the TMT is built on Mauna Kea, the benefits to our people will be greater than we can imagine.

In the meantime, we know that we will soon be in a new world of declining world oil supplies. In the 1930s, it took one barrel of oil to get 100 barrels. And in the 1970s, it took one barrel of oil to get 30. Nowadays it takes one barrel of oil to get 10. This is happening as oil becomes increasingly more difficult to harvest.

We know that oil prices will rise even more than they have; how fast and how high are the only questions. Net energy minus the amount of energy it takes to grow our food gives us our lifestyle, and the more energy it takes to get that energy, the more our lifestyle will shrink. We are already seeing this happen, and it will get worse.

Fortunately, here on the Big Island we have geothermal. Geothermal energy costs are stable and, unlike oil, they will not rise. Geothermal is a resource and a special gift that very few in the world are blessed to have. We must use this gift wisely.

The state of Hawai‘i owns the geothermal resource and receives revenues from its use. Of that revenue, 20 percent goes to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) for its social services programs. Currently, Puna Geothermal Venture pays $3.5 million annually to the state of Hawai‘i, and $700,000 a year goes to OHA. As we expand geothermal, these entities will receive more money.

This is an important consideration, because our own people have the lowest median family income in the state of Hawai‘i. We all know that lower income folks are hit first and hardest when oil prices rise. Putting more geothermal on-line will help the most defenseless among us (and the rest of us, too). And it means more money going to OHA for its programs.

The cost of geothermal energy will remain stable as oil becomes more and more difficult to harvest and its price steadily rises. This means we will all have more discretionary income. More spending money means businesses will flourish, which means more jobs so that folks can take care of their families.

And, as oil costs rise and rise, we with our stable geothermal energy costs will become increasingly more competitive in terms of cost of living. Although airfares may be very high, once here, folks will find it relatively less expensive than other places. So we can probably anticipate fewer visitors but those who come would likely stay longer and spend more money.

I can imagine those folks would engage with the community in Ag and other specialty experiences. I can see many more opportunities for regular folks to interact and offer custom services. There could be more individual entrepreneurs than exist in the current tourism model.

If we plan for our future, engaging with each other in a respectful manner, I can see our greatest asset, the aloha spirit, flourishing. And that aloha spirit, more than money, is what will make all of us rich.