June 26, 2012
Hawaii

Rain delays major move for Hawaii’s largest wind farm

By Lisa Kubota | Hawaii News Now | www.k5thehometeam.com 26 June 2012

KALAELOA BARBERS POINT HARBOR (HawaiiNewsNow) – Rainy weather has delayed a major move that will impact drivers on Oahu’s North Shore. The delivery of parts for Hawaii’s largest wind farm began early Monday morning, but the rest of the transport is on hold for a couple of days. The giant turbine pieces will be moved from Campbell Industrial Park during the next couple of months. The overnight transports will create some slowdowns for drivers.

“The blade pieces are the longest, about 162-feet long, but the nacelles, where the generator is located on the top of the turbine, are the heaviest. So that requires a specialized 19 axle trailer,” explained Kekoa Kaluhiwa, director for external affairs for First Wind.

The Kawailoa wind project sits between Haleiwa and Waimea Bay. The deliveries are scheduled to take place from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. from Mondays through Fridays through the end of August. The pieces will be loaded onto oversized trailers. Different routes will be used based on the shape of the parts as well as obstacles such as bridges and electrical lines. The trucks will travel anywhere from 15 to 40 miles per hour.

“We understand it’ll be a little inconvenient if you’re unlucky enough to be caught in back of one of these rigs, but just remember that it’s for a good cause. It’s for all of us breaking our addiction to oil,” said Lt. Gov. Brian Schatz.

The project is expected to power roughly 14,500 homes on Oahu. State leaders are excited about the possibilities for the future.

“It just shows we’re moving from talk to action when it comes to clean energy. We’ve got to break our addiction to fossil fuel. We’re burning oil for electricity and it’s costing us way too much and this is the first of many steps that we’re going to have to take,” said Schatz.

“As we’re transporting these components, we’ll be putting them up so certainly folks along the North Shore will start to see turbines being constructed in the next 3 to 4 months,” said Kaluhiwa.

First Wind also built a wind farm in Kahuku and two others on Maui. This latest wind farm should be up and running by the end of the year.

For more information go to: http://www.firstwind.com/projects/kawailoa-wind

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/06/26/rain-delays-major-move-for-hawaiis-largest-wind-farm/