Tag Archives: Geothermal

Geothermal, Peak Oil

The Train Is Leaving The Station & We Need To Act Now

We are at a real crossroads now – like hundreds of years ago, when Polynesians were sending people north in canoes – and I am serious when I ask: Are we going to do something, or are we just going to talk about it?

I am referring, of course, to our energy problem. It’s about to become critical.

  • Lloyds of London has warned its business clients to be prepared for $200/barrel oil by 2013.
  • In speaking with Forbes magazine, Charlie Maxwell predicted Peak Oil will happen in seven years. http://www.consumerenergyreport.com/2010/09/13/maxwell-forecasts-peak-oil-in-seven-years
  • The German military is also worried about Peak Oil.
  • Many, many other credible groups agree that this is a very critical problem.

We will probably hit Peak Oil sooner rather than later. There is just too much evidence indicating that oil is depleting.

Sitting out here in the middle of the ocean, we must prepare for the worse case scenario. We need to move toward solutions that make us safe, rather than sorry. And we need to move now. We have no time to waste.

My objective is to help us all to survive and still have affordable electricity.

Geothermal is something we have right here that can be considered a game changer. Are we up to the challenge?

There’s no more time for merely throwing around words. We need to act, and now.

The train is leaving the station.

Geothermal

Big Island Geothermal Projects Drawing Much Interest

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More and more people are looking into the possibility of doing geothermal projects. Mililani Trask and the Honolulu-based Innovations Development Group, a Native Hawaiian renewable-energy development firm, are interested in pursuing a geothermal model that benefits the local community, not only the developer. They have been doing just that in New Zealand.

Ku‘ulei Kealoha Cooper-Springer, trustee of the Kealoha Estate, told me that Jimmy and Miulan Kealoha, her grandma and grandpa, told her many, many years ago that she should pursue geothermal. She said the trust has 89 acres in the geothermal subzone, and that now the time seems to be right.

I have spoken with a representative of another group that is very interested, too, as well as another landowner.

If HELCO were ready to purchase geothermal power, many people would step forward right now.

There has been a major change in how geothermal is perceived by the native Hawaiian community, compared to in the 1970s, when it was done in a heavy-handed, “top-down” manner. The old technology that existed in the 1970s has been replaced by much safer production methods. Puna Geothermal has been in operation for many years now as a good neighbor.

And the world around us has changed since then. The evidence is everywhere – it’s indisputable – that oil will soon start to decline, and that we must find alternatives to fossil fuel oil. The cost of electricity made with fossil fuel oil will rise with increasing oil prices. And it will be the poor folks whose lights will be turned off first. Too often, those folks will be native Hawaiian.

Geothermal is the cheapest form of “base power.” Base power is approximately 85 percent of the electric utility’s needs – it’s the dependable power that prevents our lights from flickering. Geothermal gives off no greenhouse gases, and it has a small footprint compared to solar and biofuels.

And off-peak geothermal power, which would otherwise be wasted, can be used to make H2 and NH3 for use in internal combustion engines. All that takes is electricity, water and air. We have everything we need right here in Hawai‘i to help future generations.

The tide is turning.

Biofuel, Geothermal, Renewable Energy Sources

Why We Need Geothermal

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I just returned from Detroit, where I attended the NH3 conference.

NH3 is ammonia, and it’s “the only realistic energy solution that makes sense,” according to Matt Simmons of the National Petroleum Council, the Council on Foreign Relations and founder of the Ocean Energy Institute.

Guy Toyama, chair of the Hawaii County Energy Commission; Mitch Ewan, of the Hawaii Natural Energy Institute at UH Manoa; Roald Marth, venture capitalist, and I were the others from Hawai‘i who attended. Guy gave a talk and pretty much convinced them to hold next year’s conference on the Big Island.

What I learned:

• NH3 is more practical than H2, because there are three Hs in its molecule, rather than two. Therefore, it’s a third more energy dense when transporting. And it can be moved around through the propane infrastructure at relatively low temperature and pressure.

I am a farmer and I like things that are practical. NH3 is the practical person’s hydrogen. H2 is very impractical.

• With a little help, NH3 can be used to run internal combustion engines without much modification. The largest company in the world that converts engines for propane use is now working on commercially modifying engines so that they can use NH3. They focus on fleet vehicles, like BlueBird school buses, etc.

I like this company’s approach. They take care of everything so it is simple for the operator.

• Rather than using hydrocarbons to make NH3, as is done now, we can use electricity for hydrolysis to separate out the hydrogen and oxygen from plain water; then take “N” (nitrogen) from the air to make NH3. Cheap electricity from “off peak” geothermal power would make this cost-competitive as oil prices rise. Considering the recent Lloyd’s of London white paper telling its business clients to be prepared for $200/barrel oil by 2013, it is prudent to be self-reliant.

So the ingredients for NH3 are:

  • Geothermal for cheap electricity
  • Water for the hydrogen, and
  • Air for the nitrogen.

We have all that in abundant supply on the Big Island.

NH3 does not burn well by itself, so it can be used to stretch hydrocarbons to hedge our bets. This conference was interesting because folks reported on using oxygen to strengthen the flame. It just so happens that oxygen is produced, along with hydrogen, during the hydrolysis process.

If we do more geothermal, we can get cheap electricity for all us. And as the NH3 technology develops, we put ourselves and future generations in a position to win.

NH3 is simply ammonia and its safety issues are easily overcome. Catalytic converters can take care of greenhouse gases. Folks are working on making the combustion more efficient.

Guy Toyama said he believes we should be burning H2 in the engine and using NH3 as the H2 carrier. That’s why it it’s important to have an ammonia cracker, like Shaun Grannell was demonstrating outside. That engine was running on pure H2. The pipe on the outside stripped the NH3 to H2 + NO, NO2. Hydrogen flame speed is quicker, so you can more easily convert an Internal Combustion Engine to run on H2.

Cracker

This is a small engine with the H2 cracker wrapped in tin foil. It ran on straight ammonia.

It was amazing to see. I felt like I was witnessing a historical event.

As we all know, the folks on the lowest rungs of the economic ladder are the ones who will get their lights turned off first, and too often they will be Hawaiians. Geothermal can help to prevent this from happening.

In the uncertain future ahead, we need to take care of each other. Not, No Can. CAN!

Can you folks help us advocate for geothermal?

Biofuel, Geothermal

HECO Says: ‘Let Them Eat Cake!’

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I remember that in the 7th grade we read about a French royal, who – when told that the peasants didn’t have bread and were hungry – is said to have stated, “Let them eat cake.”

I have come to the stark realization that the Hawaiian Electric Company (HECO) has a duty to keep the stock price of its parent company, Hawaiian Electric Industries (HEI), healthy.  It’s not HECO’s mission to take care of Hawai‘i’s people.

But its strategy of raising the cost of electricity to its white-haired stockholders, in order to keep up HEI’s stock price, is as “brilliant” as its strategy of raising electricity rates of farmers so it can pay the farmers the high price they will need to raise biofuel crops.

Cynics have described it as putting money into one pocket
while taking it out of the other.

I just attended the 2010 Hawaii Ag Conference at the Ihilani
Resort and spa at Ko Olina on O‘ahu, which was very well attended.

Although the conference covered many topics, I was most interested in the Hawai‘i Biomass and Bioenergy workshop, which was held all day on Friday. It asked: “What’s the buzz, and what’s in it for agriculture?”

I was encouraged because Diane Ley, the State Executive
Director of the USDA Farm Service Agency, explained that at the end of the day, there would be a facilitated discussion with farmers and Sarah Bittleman, USDA Office of the Secretary.

There were 21 speakers, starting from 8:45 in the morning until 3:15 p.m., when the facilitated discussions began. It was very good and valuable information, covering topics from the USDA Biofuel roadmap supporting President Obama’s plan to transition America’s energy economy, by Sarah Bittleman, to the explanation of Fuel Purchasing – who is doing the “pulling” in the military.

Chris Tindall, Director for Operational Energy, Deputy
Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Energy Office, told us that the Navy is interested in buying very large amounts of advanced fuels that can be used directly to power its Great White Fleet. I can absolutely understand the national security concerns. I found him very clear and persuasive.

Early on in the morning presentations, during the Q&A, I
made the statement that Food Security is about farmers farming, and if the farmers make money, farmers will farm. I pointed out that simple math shows that farmers can not expect to get more than 7 cents per pound to grow feedstock for biodiesel, and that no farmer will farm biofuel feedstock for 7 cents per pound.

Farmers all agree with me, though we would be happy to be proven wrong about this price. I have been saying this for several years, and have not had a single rebuttal to date.

Many folks gave presentations in their area of expertise and
it was all very useful and informative. But the question left unanswered was “How much will farmers get paid for growing biofuels?” All the farmers in the room knew that the answer was: “Not enough.”

The facilitated discussions were very useful. Sarah Bittleman told everyone that it is not for the federal government to decide energy policy for Hawai‘i; that we need to decide that for ourselves.

I thought this was a very important statement, because it
has been my distinct impression that the movement toward biodiesels in Hawai‘i is running because of inertia, and is not going to be overcome by simple common sense.

Ms. Bittleman authorized folks to use common sense.

Several speakers said that we could do both food and fuel. But I wonder about that. It seems to me that if biofuel prices were subsidized enough, then farmers would quit growing food to instead grow fuel. Why shouldn’t farmers strive for a better life for their kids?

It is no longer just me asking why geothermal is not
mentioned. Many, many folks are asking that same question and it can no longer be ignored, because there is just too much at stake. Saying that “People were against it 20 years ago” is just a lame excuse.

Geothermal solves so many of the crucial issues Hawai‘i
faces that we must be looking for ways to maximize its usage. Every single farmer I talk to agrees, and is incredulous that we aren’t doing just that.

I notice that Indonesian palm oil prices are very high compared to fossil fuel oil. If local farmers don’t produce biofuels, then HECO will probably buy expensive palm oil from Malaysia. But HECO will say that it’s okay because it is green.

Biofuel, Geothermal, Peak Oil

There is a Big Island Solution to Rising Oil Prices

Lloyds of London warns its business clients to be prepared for $200/barrel oil by 2013.

Why? This video explains.

These folks are international oil experts. Watch the video again until you understand what they are saying.

The most important piece of information you need to understand is that the decline rate of aging oil fields is about 4 million barrels per day annually. This is due to aging oil fields. Every two years or so, we need to find the equivalent of a Saudi Arabia just to stay even with the natural decline rate. In order to keep up with demand, we need to make up for that and then also produce extra.

If one looks at a graph of HEI’s stock price over the last several years, one sees that after a slight lag, HEI’s stock price dropped like a rock in July 2008 when the oil price spiked.

The same thing will happen, but worse, when oil prices hit $200. Local HEI stockholders will face a loss of value of their stock while their electricity prices steadily rise. How is that being good to your stockholders?

It was my nightmare – where they send all the white-haired people away to go look for new land. The white-haired folks are the ones that depend on HEI stock for their retirement years.

There is a solution:

  • First, say unequivocally that HECO will not put expensive biofuels into its Big Island generating units. We don’t have the luxury of time to play games.
  • Second, commit to geothermal and get down to business figuring out how we are going to replace HECO’s oil-fired units. Don’t worry about community outreach, because we are taking care of that. And certainly do not send folks from O‘ahu to do what is our kuleana.

The higher the fraction of the base load we place in geothermal, the more we protect ourselves from volatile oil prices. We need to get serious about this. Now! We do not have the luxury of time.

When oil hits $200 per barrel, it will devastate our tourist industry and hurt American Savings Bank if we have not inoculated them from volatile oil prices.

We all know the benefits of geothermal; we don’t have to keep preaching about them.

We on the Big Island know that if we start to implement geothermal and work with the local people in an honest and respectful way, then we can have a discussion about shipping power to O‘ahu. But not before we take care of our business here first. If we do things in the right way, I am confident that we can ship geothermal power to O‘ahu.

HECO should have a Plan B, instead of betting everything on wind and the cable to Lana‘i and Moloka‘i. If we do this right, geothermal can be the stabilizing force that saves our economy. Price volatility prevents business from investing. Businesses need stability, and geothermal gives us that.

If HECO insists on putting expensive electricity-making solutions into its Big Island grid, it will be taking the wrong fork in the road and we don’t want to follow them there. I wrote about all the reasons we should go to geothermal after my second Peak Oil conference.  That was seven long months ago and time is ticking by.

If we move down the road toward geothermal, we will be moving toward stability and cheap energy.

I asked the folks at the University of Hawai‘i Economic Research Organization if it is fair to say that were we to get most of our base power from cheap geothermal, then we would be relatively more competitive to the rest of the world; and that our standard of living would rise, compared to the rest of the world. Carl Bonham, who is currently working on a formal analysis of $200/barrel oil, told me that it’s fair to say that.

Biofuel, Geothermal, Peak Oil

What About ‘A Long Time’ Do We Not Understand?

Just because O‘ahu does not have a base power solution to
electricity, and needs to grow biofuel to generate electricity, that does not mean the Big Island – which has a vast geothermal resource – needs to grow expensive biofuels just to copy O‘ahu.

We need to treat each island as a bundle of resources, and solve each island’s problems according to the resources it has. We cannot afford a one-size-fits-all plan.

Farmers make these kinds of decisions all the time. You work
with the ground under your feet, not the ground that exists the next valley over.

The Age of Oil is now 150 years old and we are already talking about decline. But the “hot spot” under the Big Island will last 500,000 to 1 million years.

What is it about “a long time” that we don’t understand?

This video is by Jeff Rubin, former chief economist at CIBC World Markets, the investment banking arm of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce.

In it, he gives a clear description of today’s oil situation and discusses why oil prices will be rising – and sooner than people think.

It’s because we simply are not finding as many new oil fields as we are using.  More and more, the evidence is growing and we need to come to grips with reality.

It does not have to be disastrous. But we do have to be smart and think like survivors.

Where do we want our future generations to be 150 years from now?

Big Island, Biofuel, Geothermal, Peak Oil, Renewable Energy Sources

‘Aloha, Aloha, Call When You Find Land!’

I stayed at the Ala Moana Hotel last week while attending the Asia Pacific Clean Energy Summit, which had 1400 participants and was huge and exciting.

One evening, as I sat on the lanai of my hotel room looking toward Waikiki and all the lit-up hotel rooms and bright lights and the headlights and tail lights of cars, it came to me: Everything visible was dependent on oil.

The only thing I could see that was good was that the Macy’s sign is cheaper to power than the Liberty House sign it replaced. Shorter sign.

Sitting out there on the lanai, it became clear to me that if we follow HECO’s plan for using biofuels to generate electricity for the Big Island, we will soon have limited food resources and will be making plans to send people out to discover new lands.

Back in 2007, I spoke at the Hawaii Island Food Summit:

I told them I had a nightmare that there would be a big meeting down by the pier one day, where they announce that food supplies were short because the oil supply was short and so we
would have to send thousands of people out to discover new land.

I was afraid that they would send all the people with white hair out on the boats to find new land—all the Grandmas and Grandpas and me, though maybe not June.

Grandmas and Grandpas hobbled onto the boats with their canes and their wheelchairs, clutching all their medicines, and everybody gave all of us flower leis, and everyone was saying,
“Aloha, Aloha, call us when you find land! Aloha!”

If, instead, we on the Big Island follow our own plan of maximizing
our geothermal resource, and start to add others such as wind, solar and ocean resources as they scale up; and if we emphasize lots of small- to medium-sized diversified farms, we will not need to send out the canoes to look for new land.

The Big Island could help solve O‘ahu’s food and fuel issues, too, so it wouldn’t be necessary for them to send their white-haired folks off, either.

The Asia Pacific Clean Energy Summit was exciting and I’ve spent all week trying to put all the goings-on into perspective. O‘ahu has a real serious electricity problem. It has no proven-technology base power alternative to fossil fuels. And it has limited opportunity to integrate solar and wind.

I can absolutely see why HECO was anxious to institute Smart Grid. It was an attempt to wring every bit of efficiency out of intermittent sources of power.

I can also see why HECO made the decision that biofuels would have to be a solution for O‘ahu. The biorefinery is located on O‘ahu. I can even understand why they changed their minds and decided to bring on more PV solar. THEY do need everything!

What I just cannot understand is why HECO tried to force the Big Island to go that route.

We on the Big Island need a different strategy – one that focuses on the Big Island’s resources and environment.

Biofuel, Geothermal, Renewable Energy Sources

I Have Lost Confidence In HECO

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I am becoming more and more critical of the Hawaiian Electric Company’s (HECO’s) top-level decision makers, and of their policies. I am sad to say that I have lost confidence in their ability to lead us safely into the future.

A Wall Street Journal article last September noted that Spain – the world leader in solar technology – stopped its generous subsidy to support the solar industry. Basically, ratepayers could not bear the cost of the subsidy.

So I was not surprised recently to hear HECO say it could not accept any more solar. What I was surprised about was that they reversed their direction immediately. Did things change? No. It was a missed opportunity to educate the public about what is truly going on. They chose not to.

Recently, HECO was turned down regarding its attempt to initiate Smart Grid on O‘ahu, Maui and the Big Island. Smart Grid is a developing system, and there was no need to be the first in the world to implement this. At Hawai‘i’s size, it is much smarter to be best in the world at copying the most successful systems. You get a tested system that does not cost the ratepayers as much.

Several years ago, HECO chose the biofuel path, but it did not have a serious conversation about it with farmers. Farmers know that they will not grow anything for 7 cents per pound. They might switch from growing food to growing fuel for 35 cents per pound, but oil prices would have to be $400 per barrel before it would send that price signal.

And small farmers would not be able to grow biofuels on the kind of scale that HECO needs, anyway. More likely, it would be on the scale of redemption of cans and bottles.

When HECO brought the biofuel meeting to Maui, there was
discussion about ultimately importing palm oil from Indonesia. Many of the folks in the audience were distressed at what would happen to animal habitat, especially the orangutan. HECO replied that it would source “green” biofuel. 

We know that biofuels will be more expensive than fossil fuels. Will the rubbah slippah folks be able to afford it?  Can small businesses afford to pay the resultant higher electricity rates?

Is this the solution that will give a continuous, competitive advantage to the islands, relative to the rest of the world?

We should look at the resources available on each individual island before we decide what is best for that particular island. It is the cost of the fuel, not whether it is brown or “green,” that is important.

On the Big Island, we know it must be done right. Geothermal
for base power is: proven technology, a low-cost alternative, has the smallest footprint and gives off no greenhouse gases.

The Oil Age is only 150 years old, and already we are worrying about depletion. According to Jim Kauahikaua, Scientist-in-Charge at the Volcano National Park Observatory, though, the “hot spot” under the Big Island will last for half a million to a million more years.

What about HECO’s general renewable energy strategy? They
say they are for everything – wind, solar, geothermal, ocean thermal, biofuels, biomass, etc. But being “for everything” seems to be a way of not talking about any one thing. HECO does not put any effort into enabling geothermal, so we can only assume that they do not really want it.

On the other hand, they do really want biofuels. “Shameless”
comes to mind. I am not for geothermal exclusively. But I do think there should be a prioritization of the various resources based on many factors, such as: proven technology, relative competitiveness, scalability, net energy, social consequence, geographic appropriateness, etc. 

In other words, what will give us the best chance of surviving since we are living out here in the middle of the Pacific? “We are for everything” falls way short.

I think that the rubbah slippah folks intuitively have it figured out when they say: “One day, the boat not going come.” That is their shorthand way of saying: “One day, things will be too expensive, and the boat might as well not come.” In that scenario, we will be going back to the basics. The most important question one asks all day might be, “I wonder what color malo I going wear tomorrow?”

Two weeks ago, former Chancellor of UH Hilo Rose Tseng invited Bill Steiner, the Dean of the UH Hilo College of Tropical Agriculture and Forestry and myself to attend an REIS retreat put on by the UH Manoa College of Engineering.

I immediately noticed that the Big Island was not a focus and that geothermal was not on the radar. But we were able to express the Big Island’s concerns, and we were welcomed to participate fully. This is very encouraging.

HECO sent many of its people to the retreat because many of
those people work as engineers, and many graduated from the UH College of Engineering. I found HECO’s new Director of Renewable Energy Planning, Dora Nakafuji, impressive because she is willing to discuss alternatives in an inclusive way.

The most recent issue of Hawaii Business magazine describes the restructuring of HECO. I hope the new folks will change HECO’s
corporate culture, and take the time to understand the needs of the rubbah slippah folks. We can take the right path to survival and accommodate everyone’s needs at the same time.

In an ideal reorganization, HECO gains the trust of the community, and because its plan is mutually beneficial we go down to support it at the PUC. Not, no can. CAN!

Geothermal, Peak Oil, Renewable Energy Sources, Sustainability, Video

Video: Climbing Up The Bamboo Pole

Richard Ha writes:

Awhile back I spoke to the UH Hilo Student Association Senate leaders about geothermal energy. I warned them that exponential growth fueled by a finite resource – oil – was a serious problem for us here on the Big Island.

Along the very same lines, Lloyds of London just warned its business clients to prepare or it could be catastrophic. I wrote about Lloyds of London's warning here.

I told the student leaders that we need to know what we are going to do before a catastrophe happens. "White water coming, we need to climb up the bamboo pole and lift up our legs." 

This video sums up everything I talk about on this blog.

Richard Ha Video 

Geothermal, Government

Testifying for Geothermal Resolution

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I went to O‘ahu on Thursday to testify for the geothermal
resolution.

SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 99–REQUESTING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A WORKING GROUP TO ANALYZE THE POTENTIAL DEVELOPMENT OF GEOTHERMAL ENERGY AS THE PRIMARY ENERGY SOURCE TO MEET THE BASELOAD DEMAND FOR ELECTRICITY ON THE BIG ISLAND.

I strongly support Senate Concurrent Resolution 99.

Together with our workers and family, we farm 600 acres of diversified ag crops at Pepe‘ekeo. We have more than 25 years of farming experience.

I was the only person from Hawai‘i to attend the Peak Oil
conference in October of 2007 and again this past October (2009). For several years, I have been following energy issues very closely.

The world is not running out of oil; we are running out of cheap oil. According to the International Energy Association, the official
world barrel counters, world oil supply is declining at the rate of about 4 million barrels per day every year. Saudi Arabia puts out nearly 10 million barrels per day, so every 2 and a years or so, we need to find the equivalent of a Saudi Arabia.

We have maybe 6 million barrels per day of spare capacity now. But it will be used up in a year and a half or sooner, as the world
economy improves, so we do not have too much time to get off oil. And many reputable folks and institutions feel like it is 30 years maximum before the oil-exporting countries will no longer export oil.

On the Big Island we have a proven technology resource that makes cheap electricity—geothermal. One of the things I learned at the Peak Oil conference is the concept of Energy Return on Investment (EROI): the energy it takes to get energy. In the 1930s, the energy in one barrel of oil would help you get 100 barrels of oil. In the 1970s, that one barrel of oil could get you 30 barrels of oil, and now it will only get you about 10 barrels.

Clearly this trend is not good. It’s estimated that it takes a minimum of 3 to 1 (3 barrels of energy gotten by using one barrel) to maintain our present society. After that, we will have to leave it in the ground.

Geothermal on the other hand is 10 to 1 and will stay steady for centuries. EROI must be taken into consideration when evaluating energy projects.

The EROI for biofuels is less than 2 to 1. That is less than the minimum amount of 3 to 1 that we need to maintain our present society.

What about biofuels? Here is how a farmer views growing biofuels. There are 286 pounds in a barrel of oil. At $80 per barrel, that is equal to 28 cents per pound. Say the farmer needs to squeeze four pounds of stuff to make 1 pound of liquid. That farmer can expect no more than 7 cents per pound to grow the stuff, no matter what the stuff is. Lose money. More better plant cucumbers.

Say the farmer needs to make four times that, 28 cents, to break even. Then the price of oil needs to be 4 x $80, or $320 per pound.

By contrast, a Scientific American article points out that geothermal breaks even at $57 per barrel.

SCR 99 is about looking at the feasibility of geothermal for base power.  Of the three main base power sources, oil price is now $80
but everyone knows it will keep on rising. Locally grown biofuels will be expensive and their EROI is not good.

But geothermal is cheap and its EROI is favorable and stable.  Its EROI will stay steady and it will be cheap for centuries.

And of the base power sources, only geothermal is a resource for the Hawaiian community – right now, $600,000 goes to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs every year.

The main reason we need to put geothermal on line is because it is the folks on the lowest rung of the economic ladder whose lights will be turned off first. And when they benefit,  everyone will. People will have discretionary income and businesses will
flourish. Folks will have jobs and be able to raise their families.

If the most defenseless among us are safe, we are all safe.

Click here to read other supporters’ testimony for this
bill.