Tag Archives: Richard Ha

Peak Oil

Dr. Charles Hall Speaking at UH Manoa Today & Tomorrow

Richard Ha writes:

Professor Charles A.S. Hall is giving two free lectures on O‘ahu. One is today at the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa. It’s at 3:30 p.m. in the Architecture Auditorium.

The second is tomorrow, January 10, 2013, from 4:30 – 5:30 p.m., also at UH Manoa. It’s at Holmes Hall 244.

His talk is titled “Peak Oil, EROI and Your Financial Future in Hawai‘i.”

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We’ve been going around. I took Charlie and his wife Myrna up to see the sunset at Maunakea.

Here is Dr. Hall talking with Mike Kaleikini, general manager of Puna Geothermal Venture, as we toured the Puna Geothermal plant.

With mike kaleikini

Professor Hall is a hands-on guy. At the farm, he took off his shoes and got into the flume. He started turning over rocks in order to evaluate the health of that environment. It is relatively impoverished, he said.

Hands on

At ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center, he talked to Master Navigator Kalepa Baybayan, who has captained voyages to the South Pacific and back using traditional navigational methods. Kalepa was describing how certain star clusters move in the sky as your position changes.

At Imiloa

We had coffee with with Monty Richards at his home. He is a wealth of information and history. He told us about the possibility of combining wind and 600′ pump storage using sea water, so one is not limited by the availability of fresh water. Although the soil is porous and cannot hold water, his reservoirs are lined with cheap plastic, which is common on the Big Island.

Monty Richards

Big Island, Lowering Electric Rates, Peak Oil

What I Gleaned From This Year’s Peak Oil Conference

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Richard Ha writes:

I’ve found it takes about a month for me to assess what I learn at Association for the Study of Peak Oil (ASPO) conferences. And it’s been about a month now since I returned from the most recent conference, my fifth one.

As we start a new year, I can say that I am very optimistic about our prospects on the Big Island. Our new County Council is thinking about the whole island, not just East vs. West. The Big Island Community Coalition has shown that people can indeed draw a line in the sand and make a difference on electricity price issues.

This is truly about all of us; not just a few of us. Instead of focusing on the thousand reasons why “No can,” we need to form into communities of people who agree on the one reason why CAN:

For the greater good.

The U.S. shale, gas and oil boom will not last forever. But it does give us some time to position the Big Island to be a better place for future generations. It is about utilizing low cost options, and it is about taking care of our community. Doing these things will make all of us more prosperous.

Bananas, Big Island, Community, Government

Looking Back: RIP Senator Inouye

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Richard Ha writes:

Senator Dan Inouye had a direct influence on Hamakua Springs Country Farms, primarily through the Rural Economic Transition Assistance Hawaii (RETAH) program. That, in turn, allowed us to be part of the Big Island Community Coalition, where our mission is to achieve the lowest-cost electricity in the state.

We continue to follow Senator Inouye’s example: It is about all of us, not just a few of us.

Mahalo, Senator Inouye—Rest in Peace.

Let me tell you a story. Nearly 18 years ago, C. Brewer Executive John Cross let me use 10 acres at Pepe‘ekeo, rent free, to test grow bananas. It was not clear then whether or not bananas could be successfully farmed in the deep soil and heavy rainfall of the Hilo Coast.

Having farmed bananas in the rocks of Kapoho and Kea‘au, I had no experience pulling a plow or getting stuck in mud. Until then, the standard way of planting bananas was by the “mat” system. The idea was to plant 250 plants per acre. Then, after the first bunch was harvested, you let four plants grow up, thereby increasing the population to 1000 plants per acre.

We decided to plant 25 percent fewer plants, in straight rows, so sunlight could hit the ground. The idea was to mow the grass in the
middle aisles in order to get traction instead of getting stuck in the mud. On that 10 acres, I mowed the grass and pulled a plow during the week to mark the lines. Then every weekend for several months, Grandma (who was 71), June, Tracy, Kimo and I, plus our two grandkids, would plant the banana plants from our own tissue culture lab.

(UH Hilo Professor Mike Tanabe taught us how to do that. And, by the way, instead of having a drop in production, the bunch size became larger, which made banana farming at Pepe‘ekeo more efficient.)

Kimo would carry a bucket of lime and dropped a handful as a marker every so many steps. Tracy or June drove the truck, and Kapono, who was around 6 years old, sat in the back and dropped a plant by the lime marker. Using picks and shovels, the rest of us set the plants in the ground. Even Kimberly, who was around 3, had a pick. She dug a hole wherever she wanted. After all the plants were planted, we took buckets and fertilized them.

At the end of that year, we felt it would work. We had a small ceremony where Doc Buyers, C. Brewer’s Chairman of the Board, cut off the first bunch of bananas. Also present were Jim Andrasick, who was then President of C. Brewer, and later Chairman of the Board of Matson; Willy Tallett, Senior Vice President of Real Estate/Corporate Development, and John Cross, who later became President of Mauna Kea Agribusiness (the successor company of C. Brewer).

C. Brewer had tens of thousands of acres and we had 10 acres – but our dreams were huge! We did not feel awkward that this group of heavy-duty corporate people were in attendance. We knew where we were going and it felt very appropriate for them to be there.

Then, a few years later, Senator Inouye, the leader of the Democratic party, appointed Monty Richards, a staunch Republican, to administer the RETAH program. That helped us expand our production at a critical time. And again Senator Inouye demonstrated that it wasn’t about a few of us, but it was about all of us.

We are only one of the tens of thousands of people who were helped by Senator Inouye.

At this special time of year, we look back at times and people from long ago and we smile. We thank everyone who has helped us along the way.

If we can continue to grow food, and if we can help our workers have a better life for their children, those are our goals.

Happy Holidays, Everyone.

Articles, Big Island, Community, Lowering Electric Rates, Renewable Energy Sources

‘HELCO & Your Bill: What’s Wrong With This Picture?’

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Richard Ha writes:

This Op-Ed piece just ran at Civil Beat, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, the Hawaii Tribune-Herald and West Hawaii Today.

HELCO & YOUR BILL: WHAT’S WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE?

By Noelani Kalipi 

Hawaii Electric Light Co. is applying to raise Big Island electricity rates by 4.2 percent — shortly after its parent company announced impressive profits that were 70 percent higher than last year.

What’s wrong with this picture?

We — John E.K. Dill, Rockne Freitas, Richard Ha, Wallace Ishibashi, Ku‘ulei Kealoha Cooper, Noelani Kalipi, Ka‘iu Kimura, Robert Lindsey, H.M. “Monty” Richards, Marcia Sakai, Bill Walter — invite you to join our newly formed group, the Big Island Community Coalition. Our mission is “to work together as an island community for the greater good of Hawai‘i Island and its people.”

Our first priority: To make Big Island electricity rates the lowest in the state by emphasizing the use of our ample local resources.

The proposed HELCO rate increase, coming at a time of record profits, does not sit right with us.

We understand the regulatory system, which is rate-based. Our concern is that we continue to see requests for rate increases at the same time that we read about record profits for the utility.

While we understand the fiduciary duty to maximize profits for the shareholders, we believe the utility’s responsibility to the rate payer is just as important. As part of good corporate business, it should benefit both by investing its profits into a sustainable grid.

The Big Island is one of the few places on the planet where we have robust, renewable energy resources that can be harnessed effectively to provide firm, reliable, low cost electricity for our residents.

One example is geothermal, which costs about half the price of oil. We also have solar, wind and hydroelectric. We have resources right here that can both lower our electricity costs and get us off of imported oils.

Lower rates would mean that when the grid needs repairs, or the cost of oil goes up again, it will not be such a punch-in-the-gut to our electric bills.

If HELCO is allowed to raise its rates by the requested 4.2 percent, plus raise rates again via the Aina Koa Pono project, and then the oil price goes up, that would be a triple whammy price hike on your electric bill.

Big Island Mayor Billy Kenoi has sent a strong message that the county will not support new renewable energy projects — such as Aina Koa Pono, which would add surcharges to every electric customer’s bill — unless they result in cheaper energy. “Unless it has lower rates, we will not support it,” he said recently.

UH-Hilo just had a $5.5 million electric bill — almost $500,000 more than last year — and HELCO’s proposed 4.2 percent rate increase would add another $230,000 to their bill. The same thing is happening at hospitals, hotels and businesses. Farmers’ expenses are going way up, which threatens our food security. Electricity rate increases ripple through every part of our economy. They are already rippling.

People are already struggling with their monthly HELCO bill. Some are having their lights turned off.

As rates continue to increase, more people will leave the grid and fewer will remain to pay for the infrastructure, meaning that those households and businesses that remain (because they cannot afford to get off the grid) will pay even more.

You may think the electric utility is a big powerful entity that you cannot affect, but you can. Pay attention! Show up! Write a letter! Do something! If you leave your name and contact information at www.bigislandcommunitycoalition.com, we will send an occasional email to keep you informed of what’s happening, and how you can help.

‘Nuff already!!

Let’s be clear. This is not about how green the energy is. This is about how much the energy costs. This is not about saving the world. It’s about saving ourselves first, so we are in good condition to help save the world.

We had hoped that HECO would have a balanced approach to solving the problems. There are books written on how corporations can take care of people and the environment as well as their investment. The term is called “triple bottom line.”

From The Triple Bottom Line: How Today’s Best-Run Companies Are Achieving Economic, Social and Environmental Success – and How You Can Too:

Increasingly, businesses are expected to find ways to be part of the solution to the world’s environmental and social problems. The best companies are finding ways to turn this responsibility into opportunity. We believe that when business and societal interests overlap, everyone wins.

Rising electricity costs are like a regressive tax, where the poor pay a disproportionate amount of their income. Only it’s worse. As the price of oil rises, people who are able to, leave the grid. This leaves a diminishing number of people – those who cannot afford to leave – to pay for the grid.

What’s wrong with this picture?!

Articles, Geothermal, Where We Live

Hawaiian Airlines Article about Puna, Geothermal & Richard

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By Leslie Lang

The August/September 2012 issue of Hana Hou! (the Hawaiian
Airlines in-flight magazine) has a good article about Puna and its geothermal energy.

Steam Dreams, by Paul Wood

It’s really an interesting article. Informative and easy to understand. I learned some things about how geothermal works:

To generate electricity, all you need to do is spin a coil of metallic threads inside a magnetic field (or, conversely, spin magnets inside a nest of metallic threads). The real question is: What force is going to do that spinning? The movement of water (cascades and tides) can turn a hydroelectric device. Wind will spin propellers. But most electricity is generated by steam, and to make steam you have to boil water. Oil, gas, coal and nuclear fuel are today’s favored methods for boiling water in power plants, and each comes with risks. But if you find natural steam in the ground, you don’t have to burn a thing because the earth has done it for you….

The article includes this quote by Wally Ishibashi (co-chair of the Geothermal Working Group with Richard), which I find thought-provoking:

What PGV doesn’t have is a huge smokestack—and that absence
is historic because Hawai‘i, though it contains zero natural deposits of fossil fuel, currently depends on oil for a whopping 90 percent of its energy. Last year the Big Island alone spent a billion dollars on oil. Wallace Ishibashi, head of the ILWU Hawai‘i chapter and a longtime proponent of geothermal, asks: “What do you think is our biggest export from Hawai‘i? Bananas? No way. Our biggest export is our own money. That billion dollars we spend on oil, we can keep that here.” Can we?…

And as a reward for reading to the end of the article, you will get to read about Richard:

In a democracy, every thorny problem needs at least one levelheaded farmer to think things through. Richard Ha served on the same Geothermal Working Group as Pat, and he too is a believer in geothermal. His thinking on it is Island-based and practical, and in fact Pat and many others regard Ha as the voice and conscience of geothermal, a citizen who has punched through the boundary between today’s energy crisis and tomorrow’s potential….

Click here to read the whole article

Community, Geothermal, Peak Oil

Very Successful Meeting on Geothermal Facts

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Richard Ha writes:

Approximately 100 people showed up last night at the Leilani Estate Community Center to learn the facts about geothermal energy.

July 2012 030

Some of the testimony – from folks who have worked at the geothermal facility, as well as those who live close by – was especially impactful. 

I took 10 minutes to talk about a danger we are facing: Rising oil prices. If we have sincere dialogue among all the parties, we can start to see that rising oil prices will threaten our social fabric – and most of all, our spirit of aloha. And maybe we can do something about it. But we don’t have the luxury of time.

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Why can’t we, here on the Big Island, have lower electricity rates than O‘ahu? It would lessen pressure on the most vulnerable families, help farmers compete, help businesses create more jobs and prevent the export of our most precious resource – our children.

Mike Kaleikini, Plant Manager of Puna Geothermal Venture, talked about the history of geothermal production, mitigation measures and safety regulations. Mike has a way of explaining complex issues that is easy to understand.

Don Thomas gave a talk about the technical side of the H2S issue, which had a big impact on the audience. Both Mike and Don are very credible, as they have actual, real-life experience and speak about facts that are verifiable.

I would say the crowd was 70 to 30 percent for geothermal. But it isn’t a matter of “us” against “them.” It was the discussion and sharing of information that was most important. At some point, I hope soon, we can come to grips with the larger issues of rising prices, and how we can maximize our resources in a smart and responsible way.

July 2012 030

To cap things off, Mayor Billy Kenoi showed up after the mayoral candidate debate in Pahoa concluded. He did a good job of explaining, in a commonsense way, why there is no need for the council bill. It is redundant and adds problems that are unnecessary.

July 2012 030

All attending were Councilman Fred Blas as well as Representative Faye Hanohano.

Late last night we received a note from Petra Wiesenbauer, Jan Kama and Loren Avedon, who organized the meeting:

Richard, Mike, and Don,

Mahalo for an outstanding presentation tonite to the residents of Leilani Estates and community members.  There were many comments after the meeting that people had a better understanding of how the plant operates and its impact on the community.  Whether or not they understand the difference between H2S and SO2 is questionable, but at least they feel more comfortable knowing that they are not as much at risk as they thought. 

And Petra Wiesenbauer, who lives in and runs a B&B in Leilani Estates, sent along some further comments of her own about the meeting (as well as the photos in this post):

I think it was an extremely good meeting last night. I am so proud of everybody for staying focused and respectful.

Don Thomas was absolutely excellent. It was so good to have him there with all the numbers of emissions, comparisons of different regions and being able to putting things into perspective, i.e., the Volcano blasting out 600 to 1,000 tons of stuff every day. He was able to dismantle some of the myths and clear up rumors and anxieties.

Mike was really, really good, too in making transparent what is going on at the plant and the strict restrictions they are under in regards to their monitoring, their chemicals and general equipment maintenance.

That the Mayor was able to come at the end was an added bonus and gave the whole meeting a great finale.

I talked to Jeff Melrose a little and he said, that they are working on a brochure/informational materials about disaster response/evacuation, safety and other community concerns regarding geothermal development. He is such a great guy as well and so knowledgeable about all the Big Island planning and land dealings. He thought it was the best meeting he has been to in a long time about this whole controversy and he thought it was amazing, that something like that had not been done much earlier.

I give so much credit for the course of the evening to Loren [Avedon], our moderator. He was great and made sure there were no lengthy statements, self indulgence, lamentations and other behaviors from any of the audience that could have been counterproductive to the outcome of the meeting.

 The whole meeting came about as a result of this note that had been sent around about the July 19th County Council meeting:

“There was something odd about today’s County Council meeting…all of us testifying at the Pahoa office were in opposition to the legislation, with the exception of three people.  Apparently the anti-geothermal group had received word that the bills would be postponed for 30 days.”

Those of us who attended the County Council meeting to override the Mayor veto of Bill 256 were prepared for more than 100 folks picketing the County building, and protesting loudly. But no one showed up.

The email back and forth resulted in someone asking me to post their testimony on my blog, which I did. Then on the 22nd, this note was sent around:

 “We would actually love to take you up on your offer to come here and give a talk to interested residents here in Leilani. It would be a good way to also promote the petition http://www.change.org/petitions/hawaii-county-council-petition, and therefore it would be great to do it as soon as possible. We were wondering if you had time on Tuesday at around 6:30pm. If not any other day that is convenient for you just let us know?”

By the next day, I had confirmed that Don Thomas, Wally Ishibashi and Mike Kaleikini would attend. All this happened really quickly.

With only two days notice, 100 people showed up, standing room only. I was amazed.

• Here is a recent Civil Beat article, titled “Arguments Against Geothermal Are ‘Absurdly Elitest,’ Says Scientist.

• You can still sign the Hawaii County Council petition here, which asks:

We humbly ask you to sign our petition before July 30th, 2012 asking the County Council of Hawaii to honor the Mayor’s veto of Bill 256, Draft 2. The bill would allow the County to create a one-mile safety buffer zone around the Puna Geothermal Power Plant. [Read more at the link]

Geothermal

Big Island Video News: On the Hawaii Environmental Council Testimony on Geothermal

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This video, and article, from Big Island Video News gives a good look at what went on Friday at the testimony before the Hawaii Environmental Council.

VIDEO: Harry Kim speaks out before geothermal exemption vote

HONOLULU, Hawaii: Former Hawaii Island mayor and civil defense director Harry Kim delivered surprise testimony before the Hawaii Environmental Council on Friday, and it appears to have made a difference in the council’s decision on important exemptions for geothermal energy exploration.

The council voted on two important measures… both would lift the requirements for an environmental assessment or an impact statement when exploring for new geothermal sources in Hawaii. The theory is that the exemptions would speed up the development process and encourage investment by sidestepping the expensive environmental review process.

On one side, folks like Richard Ha who are advocates for the geothermal industry, and who say that time is running out on affordable power here in the islands. Officials from the Department of Land and Natural Resources are also in support of the exemptions.

But on the other side of the issue: residents of Puna, who live in the backyard of the 30 megawatt Puna Geothermal Venture, and say they suffer from noise and health problems, and are in fear of what appears to be a massive fast tracking to grow the industry, presumably on Puna’s volcanic rift zone.

Standing with those folks on Friday… Harry Kim, whose statements resonated with the Environmental Council….

 Read the rest

Geothermal, Peak Oil

My Op-Ed From Yesterday’s Paper: “Oil Price May Lead To Exporting Our Children”

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I wrote an Op-Ed piece that appeared in yesterday’s Hawaii Tribune-Herald:

Oil price may lead to exporting our children

By RICHARD HA

Here are some real world facts, which people probably don’t realize yet because nobody’s comfortable talking about this: If we weren’t starting to change how we power our farm, we’d possibly be looking at bankruptcy before too long.

Recently, I talked to Dean Okimoto, of Nalo Farms, and he said the same thing. He’s not sure he’s going to be able to stay in business in the face of rising electricity costs.

I think there are plenty of other farmers in this same boat, too. Electricity prices keep doubling and doubling again — as do fertilizer and other farm input costs — and yet we cannot turn around and double the prices of our products.

Farmers are feeling guilty, like they’re failing in some way because they cannot make ends meet, but it’s not their fault as farmers. Energy prices are rising, and circumstances are out of our control.

…We need to come to grips with our situation, because there are serious consequences.

We will have to continue exporting our children, and Hawaii will change. Already there are more Hawaiians living on the U.S. mainland than here in Hawaii. People who have money will move here and find it a wonderful place to live, and those who can no longer afford it will leave.

It’s already happening. Look around downtown, and go into the nicer restaurants. They aren’t filled with local people. There are more mainland folks I don’t recognize than local people.

I don’t have any problem with people moving here, but I do have a problem with us having to export our children because we cannot afford to live here.

This is a call to action. We cannot sit back. We cannot afford to be quiet and afraid to rock the boat. We cannot afford to NOT take a stand. We have to do something….

There’s more. Read the rest here.

Also, I’m speaking on all this at Lyman Museum soon. It’s on Monday, May 19 at 7 p.m., if you are interested.

Community, Schools, Tomatoes

Pahoa Elementary: Tomatoes All Around

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Richard told me they took tomatoes down to Pahoa today, and gave some to every kid in the elementary school there.

There was an unexpected spike in production, he said, and he wanted to give them to the kids and their families.

3tomatoes

“We’ve done that over the years,” he said. “We just kind of made our way down the coast to the elementary schools. Kalani‘ana‘ole, Ha‘aheo, Hilo Union, Kapi‘olani, Waiakea Elementary, Kea‘au Elementary, ending up in Hawaiian Beaches at Keonepoko. So the next one was Pahoa Elementary.”

The farm first started handing out tomatoes and bananas at Keaukaha Elementary, back when the Thirty Meter Telescope adopt-a-class project was new and there were a lot of extras one season.

Over the years, he said, he’s been floored by the response. “There are so many people, I have no idea who they are, who come up and tell me they were so happy to receive the tomatoes.”

“We decided elementary kids because it’s a prize they can take home to their parents,” he said. “I feel pretty good being able to do it.”