Tag Archives: Geothermal

Geothermal

The World Has Changed: Big Island Supports Geothermal

I’ve attended at least 10 organized group geothermal meetings on the Big Island within the last two years, and I have talked to numerous individuals.

It is my sense that an overwhelming majority of Hawaiians on the Big Island support geothermal.

It is also my sense that folks on O‘ahu have no idea that opinions have changed from 20 years ago.

I was directly involved with the Thirty Meter Telescope process. Many more people support geothermal than supported the Thirty Meter Telescope. And Robert Lindsey, Big Island OHA trustee, testified at an OHA hearing that it is his sense that the overwhelmingly majority of Hawaiians support the Thirty Meter Telescope.

The rubbah slippah folks here on the Big Island are well aware of the connection of oil prices to high electricity costs. And they are well aware that the folks on the lowest rungs of the economic ladder will get their lights turned off first – and too often they will be Hawaiians.

Everyone knows that geothermal is proven technology, cheap, gives off no emissions and occupies the smallest footprint. Those who don’t know it probably don’t live on the Big Island.

Geothermal, assuming it is developed in a pono way, is a right of the native people to have a better life for themselves and for future generations

Geothermal, Peak Oil, Renewable Energy Sources

Video: Renewable Energy Panel Discussion

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Click on the link to watch a 4-minute video with Richard, as well as short videos by the others mentioned below.

VIDEO: Energy Common Sense for Hawaii panel discussion

June 1, 2011

Video by David Corrigan

Respected figures in energy philosophy and industry were given several minutes to express their opinions on the direction Hawaii should be headed at a recent Democratic Party convention in Kona.

A panel of experts and noteworthy advocates for renewable energy spoke to an audience at the Hualalai Academy about two weeks ago.

The panel included farmer and geothermal advocate Richard Ha, Representative Denny Coffman, attorney and Innovations Development Group consultant Mililani Trask, HELCO general manager Jose Dizon, and president of H2 Technologies Guy Toyama.

Read the rest and watch the videos here.

Big Island, Biofuel, Community, Geothermal, Peak Oil

Hawaiian Perspectives in Support of Geothermal

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Over the weekend I was on the panel of a Hilo Community meeting called “Hawaiian Perspectives in Support of Geothermal Development.” It was held at the UH Hilo, and I estimate that about 50 people attended. By far the majority of the folks there were in favor of geothermal development, provided it is done in a pono way.

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Each panel member spoke about his/her area of interest.

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From left to right, this is Wallace Ishibashi, co-chair of the Geothermal Working Group, and member of the Royal Order of Kamehameha; Robert Lindsey, Big Island OHA trustee, Geothermal Working Group member; Mililani Trask, Hawaiian legal rights attorney and consultant to Innovations Development Group. 

I talked from the point of view of a banana farmer who, five years ago, found his operating costs rising, and attended three Peak Oil conferences to learn how to position his business in a future of rising oil prices.

I talked about how there are serious outside forces at work. The world has been using twice as much oil as it has been finding, and has been doing so for the last 20 years. The winds of change will soon be blowing and oil prices will be rising. It is very serious, and we cannot afford to insist on individual agendas. It is no longer about us now; it is about future generations.

There are many ways that we can deal with depleting oil.

HECO’s plan of fueling with biofuels will cause electricity rates to rise. Rising electric rates means that folks on the lowest rungs of the economic ladder will be the first to have their lights shut off.

There are people who advocate small scale, individual solutions to energy independence. This approach will encourage those who are able to leave the grid to do so, and leave the folks that are unable to leave to pay for the grid.

Another, much better, alternative is to bring more geothermal on line. Geothermal is proven technology, clean and lower in cost than other base power solutions. The more geothermal we use, the more we protect ourselves from future oil shocks.

I told the group what I had asked Carl Bonham of the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization: If we can maximize geothermal as our primary source of base power, will we become relatively more competitive to the rest of the world as oil prices rise? He said yes.

I told the group that we are lucky to have the options that we have, especially geothermal. Very few in the world are as lucky.

In modern Hawaiian history, our economy has taken, taken, taken and the culture has given given given. We are at a unique time now when the economy can give and the culture can receive.

Do we dare dream of prosperity for future generations? I believe that most felt that geothermal was the way to get us there.

There are a thousand reasons why “No can.” We are looking for the one reason why “CAN!”

Biofuel, Geothermal, Renewable Energy Sources

Mopping the Deck of the Titanic

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In October 2008, the Hawai‘i Clean Energy Initiative (HCEI) – which aims for 70 percent of the State’s energy needs to be met by renewable energy by 2030 – was outstanding for its ambitious approach to the challenges facing Hawai‘i’s future. It anticipates a 30 percent reduction in oil dependency through efficiency improvements, plus a 2 percent/year reduction in fossil fuels over 20 years.

Now we are realizing that 40 percent less oil dependency in 20 years is not ambitious enough. And as we move to implementation, we are finding that some of our assumptions may not work out as planned. A key question is whether or not we are flexible enough to react to the rapid changes taking place.

It is clear to me that we are furiously sweeping and mopping the deck of the Titanic.

Picture 7

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Hawai‘i Clean Energy Initiative was enacted into law in April 2010. But by then, the world oil supply situation was changing rapidly. Two months later, Lloyd’s of London advised its business clients to be prepared for $200/barrel oil by the year 2013. Economists at the University of Hawai‘i Economic Research Organization told me that $200/barrel oil would devastate our tourist industry.

I asked, “Is it fair to say that if we used geothermal as our primary base power, Hawai‘i would become relatively more competitive to the rest of the world as the price of oil rises?” The answer was “yes.”

In a report last week, the Economic Research Organization at the University of Hawai‘I (UHERO) pointed out that the State’s current weak recovery is being fueled by the tourism industry—which is dependent on future oil prices.

Hawaii has liquid fuel, transportation and electricity problems. The mainland fixed its liquid fuel electricity problem, after the oil shocks of the 1970s, by switching to natural gas and coal.

This past October, when I attended a Peak Oil conference in Washington D.C., they pointed out that the U.S. mainland is less than 9 percent dependent on petroleum oil. A large part of that 9 percent, they then said, was due to the Hawaiian Electric Company (HECO) in Hawai‘i. I was shocked!

To think that we have done nothing about this for the last 20 years. And now we hear the excuse that, since nothing has been done, it will take 10 years to ramp up geothermal, so we cannot wait for geothermal.

Here is a comparison of Energy Return on Investment (EROI) for fossil fuels: In the 1930s, to get 100 barrels of oil, it took the energy of just one barrel. In the 1970s, one barrel would get you 30 barrels. Now, the average EROI is that one barrel will get you 10. Clearly, the trend is not good.

The ratio for geothermal is also around 10 to 1. The difference, though, is that this ratio will not decline for a very long time. Jim Kauahikaua, Scientist-in-Charge of the Hawaii Volcano Observatory, told me that the Big Island will be over the hot spot for 500,000 to a million years.

Instead of fossil fuel, HECO wants to use biofuels to generate the electricity for most of its base power. The problem is that the EROI for biofuels is close to 1 to 1. And it should also be a warning that SunFuels, a company that actually knows about green diesel, is closing up shop in Hawai‘i. Not to mention that farmers knew three years ago that they would not grow biofuels, because it was obviously a money loser for them.

I am not against biofuels, but I think if we are to grow liquid fuel it should be used for jet fuel or transportation fuel—not electricity. I support biofuels through Pacific Bioldiesel. These folks use waste oil to support their capital costs. To the extent they can integrate feedstock from farmers, I think that their model has a reasonable chance of success. I also support UH Hilo’s College of Agriculture and Forestry’s initiative to study palm oil cultivation. This, too, is proven technology.

Geothermal is cheap, proven, gives off no carbon emissions and occupies a very small footprint. And through the generation of NH3 from its off peak power, which can fuel internal combustion engines, geothermal can put future generations into a position so they can win.

NH3 can also help with food security. Eighty percent of NH3’s present use is as fertilizer.

Furthermore, electricity generated from geothermal to power electric cars is clean and cheap.

So geothermal both takes care of us today and can take care of future generations. To farmers, this is not rocket science. It’s just common sense.

We can and must use every renewable energy option available to us, and to its maximum potential. By diverting excess electricity production to alternatives such as NH3 (ammonia), geothermal offers a safety valve that can allow more renewable energy in.

Can we imagine prosperity, instead of doom and gloom? Not, no can. CAN!

The Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative:

On October 20, 2008, an Energy Agreement was signed by the State of Hawai’i, the Hawaiian Electric Companies, and the State Consumer Advocate to accelerate the accomplishment of Hawai’i’s energy objectives in the regulated electric utility sector.

In April, 2010, the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative Program was added to State law, in Chapter 196 of the Hawaii Revised Statutes.

The Challenge

Hawai’i relies on imported petroleum for nearly 90% of its primary energy

Up to $7 billion flows out of the state annually to meet Hawai’i’s energy needs

Hawai’i’s economy is extremely vulnerable to fluctuations in global oil prices

Hawai’i residents pay among the nation’s highest prices for electricity and fuel

The Solution

The Hawai’i Clean Energy Initiative is helping transform Hawai’i from the most fossil-fuel dependent state in the nation to one run on Hawai’i Powered clean energy within a generation

Its goals and objectives:

Hawaii is the most fossil fuel dependent state in the nation.

This can be explained in large part because of our dependence on tourism and the military – together, they make up roughly 50% of our total economy. That’s a dangerous scenario for the future because of the finite nature of fossil fuel and the fact that our state is more and more vulnerable to fluctuations in oil prices and availability.

Geothermal

A Matter of Leadership

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It’s a matter of leadership.

Geothermal – We have it. It works. It’s cheap. It’s safe. It’s a gift. Let’s go!

It’s ironic that Third World countries are moving into geothermal so quickly, while Hawai‘i is moving backward fast, by using biofuels to make electricity.

  • The Great Rift Valley, an area of Eastern Africa with strong tectonic activity, offers immense potential for large-scale geothermal projects. Some estimates put the resource potential along the rift at 15,000 MW.
  • Today, Nicaragua produces electric power by burning oil and coal. Tomorrow (or, at least in the not-too-distant future), the small Central American nation intends to tap the chain of volcanoes it sits above as a source of geothermal energy.
  • In the Philippines, geothermal energy already provides 27 percent of the country’s total electricity production generated in power plants. Geothermal power plants are on the islands Luzon, Negros, Mindanao and Leyte.
  • Ormoc City, a city on the island of Leyte, has a population of 184,000 and produces 708 MW of geothermal. Here on the Big Island, where we have a very similar population (185,000), we only produce 30 MW.

Let’s go!

Geothermal

Food Cost Inflation, and a Solution

The current disturbance in the Middle East has its origins in rising unemployment and food costs.

Here’s The Real Cost Of Food Inflation In America

Global Macro Monitor | Feb. 2, 2011, 5:50 AM 
Take a look at the chart we’ve constructed from the Bureau of Labor and Statistics 2009 Consumer Expenditure Survey.  It conveys a sense of how Egypt’s poverty combined with the sharp rise in food prices sparked the political revolt against the Mubarek government.  Read more

We are not immune from these pressures here. Just because food and fuel are stripped from general inflation rates does not mean they have no effect. The rubbah slippah folks all know this.

  • Can we lower food costs and increase employment in Hawai‘i?
  • Can we have prosperity in the face of declining world oil supplies?
  • Do we dare think outside of our individual spheres?
  • Can we have a uniquely Hawaiian solution to the world situation?
  • Can we imagine Hawaiian society where giving is more important than receiving?

My pop always used to say: “There are a thousand reason why ‘No can.’ I am looking for the one reason why CAN!”

Using geothermal as a base, we can have proven technology and low-priced, stable, clean electricity.

Not “no can.” CAN!!

Peak Oil, Uncategorized

‘Train Wreck In Very Slow Motion’

Jeremy Grantham, Chief Investment Officer of GMO Capital, gets it! He would be appalled that Hawai‘i, in the middle of the ocean, seems to feel no vulnerability.

For 20 to 30 years, the world has been using twice as much oil as it’s been finding. The world has fundamentally changed and soon we will pay dearly. Hawai‘i is very vulnerable.

One idea for a solution is biofuels, but that is about feed stock, which involves farmers farming –- and farmers won’t do it for the low payment that is expected.

“Base power” is potentially 85 percent of electricity’s cost, and so we need to concentrate on “base power” in order to get bang for our buck.

Geothermal is a cheap, stable, proven technology “base power.” We need to maximize geothermal for the benefit of all our people, or we will have wasted a valuable resource.

Farmers and other “rubbah slippah folks” clearly understand this. They know that the folks on the lowest rungs of the economic ladder get their lights turned off first.

They also know that folks with money will leave the grid if electricity rates go too high, leaving the rest to pay more.

We should not choose an energy policy that separates us into the “haves” and the “have nots.”

Jeremy Grantham is the Chief Investment Officer of GMO Capital (with over $106 billion in assets under management). He is one of the world’s largest asset managers and articulates the same themes that have been debated on The Oil Drum for the past 6 years.

In his Fall 2008 GMO newsletter, he commented on the underlying causes of the world credit crisis that had just taken place. This article is significant for its content and especially because of who is saying it:

“I ask myself, ‘Why is it that several dozen people saw this crisis coming for years?’ I described it as being like watching a train wreck in very slow motion. It seemed so inevitable and so merciless, and yet the bosses of Merrill Lynch and Citi and even [U.S. Treasury Secretary] Hank Paulson and [Fed Chairman Ben] Bernanke — none of them seemed to see it coming.

I have a theory that people who find themselves running major-league companies are real organization-management types who focus on what they are doing this quarter or this annual budget. They are somewhat impatient, and focused on the present. Seeing these things requires more people with a historical perspective who are more thoughtful and more right-brained — but we end up with an army of left-brained immediate doers (emphasis added).

 So it’s more or less guaranteed that every time we get an outlying, obscure event that has never happened before in history, they are always going to miss it. And the three or four-dozen-odd characters screaming about it are always going to be ignored. . . .

So we kept putting organization people — people who can influence and persuade and cajole — into top jobs that once-in-a-blue-moon take great creativity and historical insight. But they don’t have those skills….”

Read the rest here

Geothermal

Geothermal In Alaska

Alaska's cost of electricity is about 16 cents/kWh, which is nearly half the cost of electricity here on the Big Island.

Despite the fact that they have oil, they are looking at geothermal as a source of energy, as well. The main challenge there is that they have small populations and long transmission distances. 

The Alaska Legislature set 1.75 percent as the royalty charge for the first 10 years, and 3.5 percent thereafter. That was probably what they thought the industry could bear under their economic conditions.

In Hawai‘i, our royalty charge is 10 percent.

From Alaska Business Monthly, April 1, 2011:

Geothermal heats up: developing Alaska's steamy resources

…Alaska legislators last session passed a bill sponsored by State Sen. Lesil McGuire, which established a 1.75 percent royalty obligation for gross revenues derived from the production, sale or use of geothermal resources under a lease during the first 10 years immediately after the geothermal resource first generates gross income. After that first 10 years, the royalty obligation would rise to 3.5 percent of the gross revenues. The bill also transferred authority from the Department of Natural Resources to the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission over permitting and inspection of geothermal wells, and provided for a regulatory cost charge for geothermal wells. The bill, signed into law, took effect July 1, 2010….

Read the rest here

Community, Peak Oil, Renewable Energy Sources, Schools, Sustainability

The Kids at Kua O Ka La Charter School

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High school students from the charter school Kua O Ka La came to Hamakua Springs the other day on a field trip.

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Richard talked about how great it was to connect with that school, which is located on the ocean at Pu‘ala‘a in Puna, right next to the Ahalanui warm pond. “They are off the grid and all their computers are run by solar,” he said. “They have composting toilets that are very sanitary. They live on, and with, the land. I really like their hands-on learning style. They live sustainability.”

From Kua O Ka La’s website:

Pu`ala`a is an intact ancient Hawaiian village complete with historical sites, fishponds, and native habitat that affords an ideal outdoor learning environment for our project-based curriculum.

Kimo Pa, the farm’s manager, told me that he and his wife Tracy Pa were surprised, and pleased, at how interested the students were.

“We told them about what Richard has been working on,” said Kimo, “wondering how we are going to adapt to the new way of doing business, and to the high cost of oil. I talked about how we looked into Peak Oil, studied it for a few years, to really understand it. And how Richard got to the point of looking at geothermal and how he can help the rest of the community.

“We told them we’ve been looking at our resources here. We had water, so we could make hydroelectric….

“I told them that Richard said, ‘What about our workers, the island, the state? What resources do we have that could help the rest of the people?’ That’s how he found geothermal. Now he’s working with Ku‘oko‘a.

“They were really into that part, and had questions,” he said. “This has to do with their community. They’re next to the warm pond. Why is that water hot? Because of the volcano.”

He told the students that our huge dependence on oil now has to do with the leaders we have picked over the years, and their decisions.

“I told them how important they are as an individual, and that it’s their responsibility to pick the leaders; that their vote counts, because they are the future leaders. That their decision making is for the generations under them.”

He showed the students the farm’s hydroponics system, the tomatoes, and the fish they are raising.

“And I explained that we are working with other farmers, and that we like to employ people from nearby,” he said. “Working with other farmers, we can produce more food. We want to fit into the community and grow food for the area. It’s all about the sustainability – taking care of your neighbor, doing the right thing for your community so in the next generation, and the next generation, things don’t get worse.”

It’s a perfect fit with the school’s vision:

Kua O Ka Lā has adopted the concept of `Ke Ala Pono – The Right Path – to describe our goal of nurturing and developing our youth. We believe that every individual has a unique potential and that it is our responsibility to help our students learn to work together within the local community to create a future that is pono – right.

 

Community, Geothermal

Pahoa Holds a Forum on Geothermal

I attended a geothermal energy forum at the Pahoa Community Center on Saturday, and the seats were all taken.

Patbrandt

Pat Brandt is CEO of Innovations Development Group, which hosted the forum

This article, which ran in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser the day before the forum, gives some background:

Forum on geothermal energy to include Hawaiian leaders

By Alan Yonan Jr. 

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Apr 08, 2011

A Honolulu-based company that has developed geothermal energy projects on Maori trust lands in New Zealand will lead a community forum on the Big Island tomorrow to discuss the pursuit of geothermal energy there.

Innovations Development Group, which specializes in socially responsible development, said the forum will include presentations by six native Hawaiian leaders who will offer their views on how development of geothermal energy can be done in a way that protects cultural and resources…. Read the full article here

By my quick count, I would say 60 people attended.

I was there to hear people’s points of view, and there were many. I was very encouraged because we had the opportunity to talk story and bridge gaps. The overriding sentiment, which I heard over and over, was that we were talking about benefits to the community – not just the Hawaiian community but the whole community!

This made me very happy. It is truly about all of us!

The second thing that rose to the top was that we could have moved further forward if not for a historical lack of transparency. For example, 10 percent of geothermal revenues right now are royalties paid to the state of Hawai‘i, and 50 percent of that goes to the Department of Land and Natural Resources. People ask: How is that money used? There is no answer, though, because it merely goes into a general fund.

The same question is raised about the 20 percent that goes to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA). Where exactly does it go? No answer. To the credit of OHA Trustee Robert Lindsey, he knows this is unacceptable and has said that it needs to be fixed.

People also want to know why geothermal is available on the Big Island, and yet we have the highest electric rates in the state. How come? Had the utility been more transparent about its cost structure, this would not be an issue. But the people are often told, “We cannot tell you the cost; it is proprietary information.” That just breeds distrust. People feel that transparency should be the trade-off for having a monopoly!

Wally Ishibashi and I agree wholeheartedly. We were joint chairs of the Geothermal Working Group, and agreed that we would make the process transparent. We know about people’s concerns.

Moanikeala Akaka was there. She is a community watchdog, and told the IDG people, “I have not made up my mind. You guys may be Hawaiian developers, but I’m watching you, too.” I’m glad she’s watching. There’s nothing to hide.

A young girl had the most impact on me. She said, “We need to move on. I worry about the world my daughter will grow up in. I don’t want to come back here 20 years from now and be having the same discussion.”

That was a very powerful statement and I feel it resonated with everyone there. And that’s what makes things very hopeful.

People do know that “one day the boat not going come.”

This was a heavy-duty meeting, and I will be writing more about it in the coming days.