Wind Power News: lanai
Hawai`i wind turbines kill petrel, shearwater, nēnē and bats
Hawai`i Governor David Ige gave the keynote speech to the Western Governors Association workshop on Species Conservation and Climate Change on Thursday. “Hawaii is proud to be the first state in the nation, to institute, Habitat Conservation plans, for wind energy projects, ensuring a net benefit is provided for our native wildlife, while we work towards achieving our clean energy goals.” All large-scale centralized energy projects in both urban and rural landscapes, displace and kill species during construction, and pose . . . Complete story »
Information regarding Lanai wind farm to remain confidential, state agency says
A state agency has rejected a request by the Friends of Lanai that would have given the community group access to confidential information on the terms and conditions of an agreement between Oracle Corp. founder Larry Ellison and Castle & Cooke Inc. regarding a planned wind energy farm on the Pineapple Island. When Ellison acquired 98 percent of Lanai from Castle & Cooke CEO David Murdock in 2012, the reported $300 million purchase price did not include the rights to . . . Complete story »
Council committee to consider 2 issues on Thursday
Maui County Council members will consider Thursday whether to authorize the settlement of two multimillion-dollar tax appeal cases, both involving wind farm companies alleging that the county improperly assessed their properties by including the value of wind turbines and towers as part of the tax assessment. At a meeting beginning at 1:30 p.m. in Council Chambers, the Committee of the Whole will consider settlement of appeals from Auwahi Wind Energy, which has wind turbines in Ulupalakua, and Kaheawa Wind Power, . . . Complete story »
Wind in Oahu’s waves
State and federal regulators will meet Wednesday to discuss a Danish company’s plan to build 102 floating wind turbines off Oahu’s shores and generate about 30 percent of the island’s electric power needs. At an Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Task Force meeting, officials from the Hawaii State Energy Office and representatives from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management will discuss Denmark-based Alpha Wind Energy’s proposal to build two wind projects for $1.6 billion. AW Hawaii Wind LLC, a subsidiary of Alpha . . . Complete story »
Guardians of Lanai
One contentious issue is raring its head. An outcome of the Murdock-Ellison ownership transaction is that Murdock keeps the right to build a wind farm, a project that would place windmills on vast acreages of the island and deliver power to the island of Oahu, 120 kilometres to the northwest, through an undersea cable. The idea of a wind farm is clearly being widely resisted, as evidenced by the number of "No Windmills" signs on Lanai's roadsides and sections. Complete story »
Study identifies potential Maui wind farm locales
Kaupo, Kahikinui, Kapalua and the Paia-Haiku areas have been identified by an “internationally recognized” energy resource consultant to be potential wind farm sites on Maui. But consultant AWS Truepower based in New York said the areas could be hard to develop because they are in or near cultural sites, there may not be land available and projects would have community opposition because the wind farms could infringe on views and neighborhoods. The sites were identified using data covering wind speeds, . . . Complete story »
Castle & Cooke report says Oahu, Maui wind sites could generate 813MW
A report commissioned by Castle & Cooke, which has plans to build a major wind energy farm on Lanai, has identified three potential wind resource areas on Oahu and six other areas on Maui that would total 813 megawatts of capacity. New York-based renewable energy consulting firm AWS Truepower LLC, which stressed that identifying potential wind resource areas is only a preliminary step in the development of a potential wind farm project, said that there are a number of other . . . Complete story »
Battery storage maker Xtreme Power files Ch. 11 bankruptcy
Xtreme Power Inc., the Texas-based battery storage system maker that has most of its projects in Hawaii – including a 15-megawatt system that went up in flames at the Kahuku Wind Farm on Oahu – said that it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection while it continues to look for a buyer to purchase its operation. A company spokeswoman told PBN that the company filed the Chapter 11 case in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Texas last week. Xtreme Power said that . . . Complete story »
Isle wind farm contractor has filed for bankruptcy
A Texas-based energy storage company that provided battery systems involved in a 2012 fire at a Kahuku wind farm has filed for bankruptcy. Xtreme Power, founded in 2006 and based in Kyle, Texas, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last week in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Texas. Company officials said the bankruptcy filing will allow Xtreme Power to continue operations as it tries to find a buyer. Xtreme Power’s core engineering, project development and operations staff will . . . Complete story »
Hawaii regulators deny attempt to disqualify Castle & Cooke law firm
Hawaii regulators have denied all requests to disqualify a Honolulu law firm from representing Castle & Cooke in the case involving a proposed 200-megawatt Lanai wind farm project. The Hawaii Public Utilities Commission, issued its final ruling on Tuesday, denying Friends of Lanai’s as well as Kaulana Kahoohalahala and Matthew Mano’s motion to disqualify the Law Firm of Yamamoto Caliboso LLC. The commission found that Caliboso, a former PUC chairman, who voluntarily backed out of working the case, does not . . . Complete story »
