Richard Ha writes:

Aina Koa Pono (AKP) just announced plans to bring a trailerable “Micro Dee” process to Ka‘u to demonstrate the pyrolysis oil process.

That liquid is not drop-in diesel.

• It still needs to be sent through a refinery so that it can meet fuel specifications.
• After refining, rate payers will still subsidize the fuel to the tune of $200 per barrel.

It kind of looks like the same old piggy but with lipstick and a pretty dress.

From the Aina Koa Pono press release:

….Our plan is to start with one, 33-ton-a-day unit so the community can see and understand the Micro Dee (Microwave Thermo Catalytic Depolymerization) process in place. AKP and its engineering, construction and procurement partner, AECOM Technology, are focused on final plans for this trailerable unit; we’re performing final validation on technology so investors are confident as we move ahead. We expect to locate the 33-ton unit in Hawaii within the next several months and be operational before second quarter, 2014.

AKP has 12,000 acres on which to produce the crop they need to make fuel. Palm oil is the only crop that can compete with oil in the biodiesel space. It yields approximately 500 gallons/ acre.

Assuming – and this is a huge assumption – that AKP gets the same yield as palm oil produces, they might get 6 million gallons annually from their 12,000 acres.

That will be far short of the 18 million gallons the utility is looking for.

Right now the land is mostly in cattle, but it’s clear that AKP will need every inch of land.

I wonder when they are planning to break the news to the cattle ranchers – that the cattle ranchers will need to leave?