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Commission approves biomass plant
Green Energy Hawai‘i clears largest regulatory hurdle
by Nathan Eagle - THE GARDEN ISLAND
A proposed agricultural biomass-to-energy plant in Koloa took a history-making leap forward yesterday at the Mo‘ikeha Building as the county Planning Commission unanimously approved use permits critical to the sustainability project.
The precedent-setting decision will allow Green Energy Hawaii to proceed with its plan to build a 7,100-kilowatt facility in Knudsen Gap that will renewably provide roughly 10 percent of the island’s energy needs.
The Kaua‘i-based company will use gasification technology to convert mostly albizia and eucalyptus wood chips into power that will be sold to the local electric company.
Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative has a confidentiality agreement with Green Energy Hawaii blocking both from revealing the agreed upon rate. But each side has said the amount will be less than the price of energy from oil and members should see some savings.
“On Kaua‘i, this will be by far the biggest renewable plant we’ve seen,” said Hawaiian Mahogany President Bill Cowern, who has an exclusive agreement to provide the feedstock for the project.
After clearing this largest regulatory hurdle, the Kalaheo resident added, the next step will be obtaining a building permit.
Cowern said the debate on the project, which has included two lengthy public hearings, has skirted the issue of what the island will do when oil becomes unavailable.
“If we don’t plan ahead ... we’ll end up in big trouble,” he said. “This is a good start. ... It’s a safety net.”
The local economy cannot be sustained without affordable alternative energy, he added.
Residents have criticized the company’s decision to cultivate an invasive species, use ag lands for fuel rather than food, displace farmers and use water from Koloa Ditch.
But Eric Knutzen, president of Green Energy Hawaii, along with various state leaders and environmental experts, said the project will reduce the overall amount of albizia on island and positively benefit the community.
Hawaiian Mahogany leases some 3,800 acres from Knudsen Trust and Grove Farm. The company cultivates eucalyptus for its hard wood and albizia for its nitrogen-fixing capabilities on the lands at Halfway Bridge up toward Kahili Mountain and down Tree Tunnel Road toward Koloa.
Green Energy Hawaii determined an additional 2,000 acres would be necessary to fulfill the wood tonnage requirements for the proposed plant.
The state offered Hawaiian Mahogany a parcel that would allow them to meet this need. However, the property is irrigated agricultural land that local farmers and ranchers said they want to keep unforested.
Larry Feinstein, who works for Hawaiian Mahogany, said the company agreed that the prime land the state chose is unnecessary to cultivate albizia trees, a hardy species that grows in poor soil on rainfall alone.
They reached a compromise through a state Department of Agriculture-appointed mediator. Hawaiian Mahogany asked for 1,000 acres chosen by the Kalepa Koalition, Feinstein said.
The group has picked the property, Cowern said, and it is up for approval by the state Board of Land and Natural Resources.
Cowern said his company is in agreement with phasing out albizia trees over 10 years on state lands as DOFAW Administrator Paul Conry recommended in his Nov. 16 letter to the Board of Land and Natural Resources.
The commission approved a condition requiring the company not grow albizia on the state lands, but will allow the cultivation of existing stands of trees.
The decision to use albizia, Cowern has said, is based on a commitment to keep the plant sustainable. Alternative fast-growing species would require pesticides, herbicides and fertilizer.
Albizia acts as a natural fertilizer, he added.
Green Energy Hawaii has an agreement with the state, Knutzen said, that the 1,000 acres from the state are returned to their original state and then back to the farmers after the 10-year window to harvest albizia closes.
The lease for the state lands has not been executed, he added.
Some community members, such as Kapa‘a resident Ken Taylor, called on the company to share estimates of how much money customers will save on their electric bills.
“Talk is cheap. Show us the numbers,” he said.
The commission placed a condition on Green Energy Hawaii to receive Health Department approval in response to watershed concerns.
“Today was a good day for the future,” Feinstein said after the meeting, which roughly 35 people attended.
• Nathan Eagle, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 224) or neagle@kauaipubco.com.
by Nathan Eagle - THE GARDEN ISLAND
A proposed agricultural biomass-to-energy plant in Koloa took a history-making leap forward yesterday at the Mo‘ikeha Building as the county Planning Commission unanimously approved use permits critical to the sustainability project.
The precedent-setting decision will allow Green Energy Hawaii to proceed with its plan to build a 7,100-kilowatt facility in Knudsen Gap that will renewably provide roughly 10 percent of the island’s energy needs.
The Kaua‘i-based company will use gasification technology to convert mostly albizia and eucalyptus wood chips into power that will be sold to the local electric company.
Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative has a confidentiality agreement with Green Energy Hawaii blocking both from revealing the agreed upon rate. But each side has said the amount will be less than the price of energy from oil and members should see some savings.
“On Kaua‘i, this will be by far the biggest renewable plant we’ve seen,” said Hawaiian Mahogany President Bill Cowern, who has an exclusive agreement to provide the feedstock for the project.
After clearing this largest regulatory hurdle, the Kalaheo resident added, the next step will be obtaining a building permit.
Cowern said the debate on the project, which has included two lengthy public hearings, has skirted the issue of what the island will do when oil becomes unavailable.
“If we don’t plan ahead ... we’ll end up in big trouble,” he said. “This is a good start. ... It’s a safety net.”
The local economy cannot be sustained without affordable alternative energy, he added.
Residents have criticized the company’s decision to cultivate an invasive species, use ag lands for fuel rather than food, displace farmers and use water from Koloa Ditch.
But Eric Knutzen, president of Green Energy Hawaii, along with various state leaders and environmental experts, said the project will reduce the overall amount of albizia on island and positively benefit the community.
Hawaiian Mahogany leases some 3,800 acres from Knudsen Trust and Grove Farm. The company cultivates eucalyptus for its hard wood and albizia for its nitrogen-fixing capabilities on the lands at Halfway Bridge up toward Kahili Mountain and down Tree Tunnel Road toward Koloa.
Green Energy Hawaii determined an additional 2,000 acres would be necessary to fulfill the wood tonnage requirements for the proposed plant.
The state offered Hawaiian Mahogany a parcel that would allow them to meet this need. However, the property is irrigated agricultural land that local farmers and ranchers said they want to keep unforested.
Larry Feinstein, who works for Hawaiian Mahogany, said the company agreed that the prime land the state chose is unnecessary to cultivate albizia trees, a hardy species that grows in poor soil on rainfall alone.
They reached a compromise through a state Department of Agriculture-appointed mediator. Hawaiian Mahogany asked for 1,000 acres chosen by the Kalepa Koalition, Feinstein said.
The group has picked the property, Cowern said, and it is up for approval by the state Board of Land and Natural Resources.
Cowern said his company is in agreement with phasing out albizia trees over 10 years on state lands as DOFAW Administrator Paul Conry recommended in his Nov. 16 letter to the Board of Land and Natural Resources.
The commission approved a condition requiring the company not grow albizia on the state lands, but will allow the cultivation of existing stands of trees.
The decision to use albizia, Cowern has said, is based on a commitment to keep the plant sustainable. Alternative fast-growing species would require pesticides, herbicides and fertilizer.
Albizia acts as a natural fertilizer, he added.
Green Energy Hawaii has an agreement with the state, Knutzen said, that the 1,000 acres from the state are returned to their original state and then back to the farmers after the 10-year window to harvest albizia closes.
The lease for the state lands has not been executed, he added.
Some community members, such as Kapa‘a resident Ken Taylor, called on the company to share estimates of how much money customers will save on their electric bills.
“Talk is cheap. Show us the numbers,” he said.
The commission placed a condition on Green Energy Hawaii to receive Health Department approval in response to watershed concerns.
“Today was a good day for the future,” Feinstein said after the meeting, which roughly 35 people attended.
• Nathan Eagle, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 224) or neagle@kauaipubco.com.
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