Tag Archives: Geothermal

Geothermal

Fresh Water Below Sea Level

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Don Thomas is a geologist and volcanologist at the UH Manoa and UH Hilo. Talking to him is so interesting; it’s kind of like an Indiana Jones novel. He is quiet and unassuming but the stuff he talks about just blows me away.

One day, he mentioned to me that he was looking for fresh water for the military at Pohakuloa. He told me about this neat instrument that can look down and see the electroconductivity of rock.

He told me that dry rocks have a certain signature and wet rocks a different one. He said that salty wet rocks and hot rocks have signatures that are hard to distinguish from one another. So one could locate heat zones?

Hmmm, I thought—maybe we can find hot geothermal zones?

Don just drops these kinds of info. I had no idea that geology could be so fascinating.

From Don’s email to me:

We’ve always assumed that the understanding of groundwater in Hawaii was pretty well established.  The old timers, the guys I learned from when I was a student at UH, did a really fantastic job at interpreting the geology and groundwater hydrology. But, they didn’t have any data to tell them what was going on deep below sea level.

With our deep borehole, we found that some assumptions that were made about the flow of water below sea level was much different from the assumptions made by the earlier hydrologists.  The most significant finding was that freshwater was found much farther below sea level than anyone had expected.

For water to be that deep, it meant that seawater had to have been forced out by much higher pressure freshwater than was expected.  In order for those pressures to occur, it meant that freshwater was piled up much higher inside Mauna Kea than we had assumed.  To prove that, we’ll need to drill a hole from a much higher elevation – in the Saddle.

But, because drilling is pretty expensive, I teamed up with some folks from the mainland who are experts in a type of measurement that can “look” downward into the ground and determine the electrical resistance of the rocks at various depths below the surface.  Dry rocks are pretty poor electrical conductors; when they get wet with fresh water, they are better conductors; and when they are wet with sea water, they are even more conductive.

That exploration method is pretty expensive itself – but we were able to make measurements at about thirty stations across the Saddle – with the data we were able to collect, we were able to identify a couple of locations where the conductivity of the ground was similar to that of fresh water saturated rock at about 3000′ above sea level.

That doesn’t guarantee that we will find water there – it’s like in the detective stories – the conductivity of the rocks is only “circumstantial evidence” – it’s possible that other geologic conditions are responsible for the conductivity.  The only way we can prove the presence of water at that elevation will be to drill into one of those zones.  But, if there is water there, it will mean that we have a pretty large resource stored inside the island.

It’s also important to realize that another of the findings of the deep hole was that the local conditions – where ever you are on the island – will exert a strong control over where groundwater flows.  So the conditions in Kona, whatever they are, will likewise have an impact on the water.

It’s just a guess, but my guess is that there is a lot more water stored on the Kona side of Mauna Loa than we have generally expected based on the relatively thin groundwater lens found near the coast.  I’d bet that there are buried formations that are controlling groundwater flow – similar to the ones we found in Hilo – that may be forcing fresh water to discharge from that are deep below sea level.  But, again, we don’t the necessary geological data to be able to prove that.

Richard again:

This really captures my imagination. It points out the value of education and science in a very practical way. Combine that with getting HELCO to use geothermal as base power—we can get that water at a reasonable cost.

This article predicts that the wet side of the island will get wetter and the dry side drier. If this is the case, then Don’s efforts could be the basis for solving our long-term problems.

I want the people to know the role Don has played and is still playing for the Big Island people’s benefit!

Food Security, Geothermal, Peak Oil

How Geothermal = Food Security

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Our “food security” is about farmers here in Hawai‘i farming. We know that Hawai‘i imports more than 80 percent of its food, and has only a seven-day supply of food on island at any one time.

Being more food secure means growing much more of our food here. How do we make that happen?

If farmers make money, the farmers will farm.

The cost of electricity cost is directly related to farmers farming or not. Farmers are price takers, not price makers. So as electricity costs go up for consumers, wholesalers and retailers, farmers’ prices necessarily go down and so do their profits.

We all know that world oil supplies will be declining and that petroleum prices are likely to be very high in the next few years, making fossil fuel-produced electricity rise very high in price.

Do you know what the most energy-intensive part is regarding getting our food? Surprisingly, it’s not the “on farm” energy usage. It’s the energy needed for the stop-and-go transportation of getting food to your home,  the cost of refrigeration during that journey and the cost to refrigerate your food once it’s at your home.

So what will help with food security?  Cheap electricity. On the Big Island, that means geothermal electricity.

Produced locally, it is the cheapest form of electricity here. For more than 15 years it has operated without subsidies, and it even earns money for the state of Hawai‘i—currently more than $3 million a year.

Cheap electricity will lower wholesaler and retailer operating costs and therefore leave more discretionary income in the pockets of consumers, and they will be able to buy local produce. It will result in less pressure on farmers to lower their prices beyond what is reasonable, and they will make decent livings and continue to farm. And we will have increased food security out here in the middle of the ocean.

If farmers make money, the farmers will farm!

Geothermal

What Works, Works!

In a complex world of finite resources and inertia of technological progress, sometimes we need to stop and take a breath and appreciate the simple things that work.

Take the garden hoe — it is hard to imagine technology improving upon its simple function.

Geothermal is one of those things that work.

Here’s an article about finite resources, and some of the implications:

Western governments may not realise it yet, but consumerism as we know it is doomed and resource war with China inevitable, the world’s biggest fund managers were told yesterday.

The unsettling message, which focuses on the potentially destabilising shortfall of the rare “technology metals” used in everything from mobile phones to guided missiles, was issued in Tokyo yesterday at the close of one of Asia’s largest annual investment forums.

Jack Lifton, an expert in rare earth metals, said that many of the green ambitions of governments around the world — particularly ones involving wind farms and other high-tech responses to climate change — would be thwarted by upstream supply issues.

Particularly troubling, he said, is an impending inflection point that may arrive within the next couple of years when China becomes a net importer of rare earth ores.”

Geothermal, Government

The Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative Steering Committee and Me

Because of my agriculture background and my interest in energy matters, I was invited to become a member of the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative Steering Committee. I am hopeful that this committee will be able to make significant governmental recommendations.

I believe in implementing proven technology. I believe in Research and Development. But I also realize that “hoping” is not an energy policy.

I believe in implementing processes that result in the lowest cost to rate payers. To the extent that this results in a competitive advantage to Hawai‘i, it will encourage businesses to flourish. On the Big Island, geothermal is clearly the low cost solution for the electrical utility. We must find ways to make it happen.  Not, no can. CAN!

The Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative (HCEI) was launched on January 28, 2008 with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding.

The goal: To put Hawai‘i on a path to supply 70 percent of its energy needs with clean energy by 2030.

“…The Department of Energy will help Hawaii lead America in utilizing clean, renewable energy technologies.” – Governor Lingle

“Hawaii’s success will serve as an integrated model and demonstration test bed for the United States and other island communities globally…” – Assistant Secretary Karsner

Biofuel, Geothermal, Peak Oil

More Thoughts on Peak Oil – And Our Solution

I thought that I would revisit a post I did on my first impressions of the Peak Oil conference in Denver this past October. I have added comments to the post I did back then. My new comments are in italics.

Examining Energy Alternatives

I learned something interesting at the Peak Oil Conference I’m currently attending in Denver. It’s about a pattern. When U.S. oil costs exceed four percent of the gross domestic product – so, when the price of oil hits $80 per barrel – we go into recession. (Note that this does not mean oil prices won’t go even higher than $80 per barrel.)

I think that investors are very reluctant to bet against the pattern above. They know that at some point above 4 percent GDP, they will be playing with fire. Last July’s oil price of $147 and the immediate collapse is fresh in their memories as something that can happen. So we watch as the stock market and oil prices twist themselves into a pretzel, according to the strength of the U.S. dollar, the strength of the Chinese economy, the cold winter, the status of Iraq, the riots in Iran, and on and on.

We should be paying attention to the actual supply situation. The natural decline rate of the oil supply is between 5 and 6 percent. That means we need to find 4.5 million gallons per day of new oil supplies — every year — or we are going to be short.

Right now, we have more than enough oil. But Jeff Rubin, former chief economist of CIBC, predicts $225 per barrel oil by 2012 and with it the end of globalization, a movement towards local sourcing and a need for massive scaling up of energy efficiency.

We need to move to geothermal now, not thirty years from now.

David Murphy talked about Energy Return on Investment (EROI), and I asked him what he thought the EROI is for geothermal. He said around 10 to 1, and he agreed with me that it is an attractive alternative energy to pursue for Hawai‘i. This was the consensus of everyone I asked about geothermal. Because geothermal costs are stable, it’s a no-brainer.

Terry Backer, a panel member and long-time Connecticut legislator, pointed out how he sees the economy unwinding. He said that people in his state had been doing okay. In early 2007, although things were tight, people had around a $400-500 per month cushion. But then the price of heating oil was high in the winter, and then the price of gas went to $4.50 per gallon, and food prices went up too. It just stripped people of their “cushion.”

If the consumers have no extra money they cannot buy things. Elizabeth Warren gave this speech that says it all. (Coincidentally her base year is 1970, the year that oil peaked in the U.S.).

The question is, how do we give the middle class disposable income? Choosing the low cost alternative to fossil fuel can help. We have geothermal, which is this.

It’s exactly why we need to move to geothermal. It will stabilize costs, and protect folks forever from ever-higher electricity and water bills that result from rising oil prices.

We need to force that change, not give a thousand reasons why “no can.” Sure we can try other alternatives. But as farmers always say: “What works, works.” Geothermal works.

We must be careful not to end up like Iceland. Fishing and geothermal worked. But instead they started chasing after finance matters, whose foundation rested on sand. Their economy collapsed and now they are left with fishing and geothermal—the things that still work.

And when people start buying electric vehicles, this will protect them from gasoline costs, too. As for businesses, their customers will have more discretionary income to spend. The government will see fewer folks fall through the cracks.

We probably are going to be dependent on gasoline for transportation for a long time. One practical way for Hawai‘i people to protect themselves from high gasoline costs is to buy hybrid vehicles. In Japan, hybrids are a hit. On the Big Island, the more “base power” that comes from geothermal, the more discretionary income people will have. The more discretionary income people have, the more business prospers and the more jobs are available for people who are raising their families.

In the final analysis it is about the consumers. Consumers drive the economy. We tend to forget that.

For native Hawaiians, the use of the geothermal resource will generate revenues in royalties and possibly rents as well. They are consumers, too.

Biofuels, on the other hand, are not expected to be cheaper than oil, and may even need subsidies from consumers. Why would we do that, when we can instead save consumers money by using geothermal?

By now, everyone must be aware that biofuels are wishing and hoping. We wish it would work. Farmers know that it will be very expensive and that it will take money away from consumers.

We need to put in a cable to O‘ahu. They need base/dispatchable power over there, on top of which they can put solar and wind. Without that, O‘ahu will be hopelessly dependent on oil.

All that is true. But we need to take care of the people on the Big Island before we even consider another option. That point was made abundantly clear at a presentation on geothermal I did for the Keaukaha Community Association.  Done right, with community input and community benefit, I’m confident that the people would look favorably on sending power to O‘ahu. But it is a Big Island discussion.

As a farmer, I am concerned about where we are going to get the fertilizer to feed ourselves. Nitrogen, the building block of protein, is extracted from air using high heat and pressure. Oil and gas are what is used now, and that process takes lots of power. But if oil and gas prices rise enough, geothermal power can be substituted. We need to place ourselves in a position to win.

Again, geothermal would generate a lot of royalty money for the Hawaiian people. Without this revenue source, we will see more and more cuts to social services.

I am very encouraged to see that Hawaiians are leading this discussion. This is the right thing to happen.

Geothermal can be a blessing for the Hawaiian people.

If we can maximize its use as a resource for the native Hawaiian people, we will also strengthen our middle class. If we do that our businesses will flourish, everybody will benefit and our future will be hopeful

Biofuel, Geothermal, Renewable Energy Sources

Study: U.S. Should Reconsider Biofuel Policy

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Now there’s a study out saying it is basically wrong to pursue our present biofuel policy. I agree with it completely.

In the 1930s, you could get 100 barrels of oil with the energy from one barrel. In the 1970s, this had decreased to 30 to 1. Now, oil’s Energy Return on Investment (EROI) ratio has decreased to 10 to 1, and it will steadily decline as oil is more and more difficult to harvest.

To sustain our society, we must have an EROI of at least 3 to 1. Biofuels only have an EROI of 2 to 1.

Geothermal, however, is 10 to 1, and that ratio will stay steady for centuries.

Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy took a strong stance in the following article, and it goes against everything that is taking place in Hawai‘i today. Lots of the biofuel companies are benefitting from the new stimulus money, which is pushing biofuels that have ex-HEI folks in their organizations.

HOUSTON (Dow Jones)–The U.S. government needs to rethink promoting ethanol as a way to enhance energy security as production of the fuel is costly for taxpayers and poses economic and environmental risks, according to a study released Wednesday.

The report by the Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy notes that in 2008 the U.S. government spent $4 billion in biofuel subsidies to replace 2% of the U.S. gasoline supply. The average cost to the taxpayer of those substituted barrels of gasoline was roughly $82 a barrel, or $1.95 per gallon on top of the retail gasoline price, according to the study.

“We need to set realistic targets for ethanol in the United States instead of just throwing taxpayer money out the window,” said Amy Myers Jaffe, a senior fellow in energy studies at the Baker Institute and one of the report’s authors.

Here are the names of leaders in the Baker Institute for Public Policy. I especially trust Colin Powell, who seems balanced and credible to me.

Personnel
•    James A. Baker, III Honorary Chair,
•    Edward P. Djerejian, Director (former American Ambassador to Israel and Syria and Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs).

Board of Advisors
•    William Barnett
•    David Leebron
•    Colin Powell
•    Madeline K. Albright

Peak Oil, Renewable Energy Sources, Sustainability

Positive Changes and Energy Solutions

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A few days after the Peak Oil conference has ended, things are starting to become clear.

We have the oportunity to both make positive changes and also solve our energy problems. But we will need help from the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo to analyze Big Island energy options from a holistic point of view.

The distribution curve of median family income is skewed heavily toward low income folks on the Big Island. The median family income in the state is $56,000. On the Big Island, it is $46,000.

Here on the east side of the Big Island, it is in the mid-30,000s. True aloha requires us to fix this, for all our sakes.

Last year when the oil price spiked, gasoline prices spiked as well. For the first time some of my workers asked me if they could borrow money for gas to come to work! The lower income folks were hurt bad.

It is no secret that I believe that biofuels are no solution to our energy problems, because return to the farmers would be too low.

But biofuels would also be as or more expensive than fossil fuels to the final customer. My workers would still have to borrow money for gas. What good is that?

The state of Hawai‘i legally owns our geothermal resource. So any royalties from its use must be paid to the state and to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA).

Right now, Puna Geothermal Venture pays the state $3.5 million a year, and OHA gets 20 percent of that. That’s $750,000 a year generated from geothermal en to OHA.

Also, the cost to consumers is less than that of fossil fuel and it will not go up when fossil fuel prices go up.

We need to put in more geothermal, not less. More money would go to the state and to OHA. Geothermal has low and stable costs, which results in more discretionary income left in people’s pockets. When they spend that money, businesses can hire workers, who can then take care of their families.

Taking care of people, this is true aloha. The tougher it gets, the more we need to take care of each other.

Geothermal energy is a gift of true aloha.