LOCATION/TYPE

NEWS HOME

[ exact phrase in "" • results by date ]

[ Google-powered • results by relevance ]


Archive
RSS

Add NWW headlines to your site (click here)

Get weekly updates

WHAT TO DO
when your community is targeted

RSS

RSS feeds and more

Keep Wind Watch online and independent!

Donate via Paypal

Donate via Stripe

Selected Documents

All Documents

Research Links

Alerts

Press Releases

FAQs

Campaign Material

Photos & Graphics

Videos

Allied Groups

Wind Watch is a registered educational charity, founded in 2005.

News Watch Home

Residents and policymakers battle over Hawaii wind energy projects 

Credit:  By Stewart Yerton | Honolulu Civil Beat | March 29, 2020 | www.civilbeat.org ~~

Concerns about renewable energy projects are spreading from street protests to the halls of lawmaking bodies, as state and local legislators are considering measures that could hinder the ability to build the solar and wind farms needed for the state to meet its clean energy goals.

Both the Hawaii Legislature and the Honolulu City Council were considering measures that restrict the placement of wind farms, such as AES Corp.’s controversial Na Pua Makani project in Kahuku on Oahu’s North Shore. The Legislature suspended its session for a few weeks and the City Council took the measure off its agenda in the face of the coronavirus threat now engulfing Hawaii.

But with Hawaiian Electric Co. still scheduled to unveil a slew of new projects in May, there’s a looming question of whether some of those projects will trigger widening protests over other types of projects, leading policymakers to respond to constituents with additional measures.

Already, the protests are driving developers away. On Tuesday, Eurus Energy America announced it was pulling the plug on its proposed Palehua wind farm on Oahu.

“The risk factors associated with developing wind projects in Hawaii were deemed too great for us to proceed,” the company said in announcing the decision. Eurus said it will continue to operate its Eurus Waianae Solar Plant.

Hawaii’s energy law requires all electricity sold in the state to be produced from renewable resources by 2045, and some worry that ongoing opposition could make it hard to reach that goal. Others suggest Hawaii should reconsider its energy policy if communities strenuously object and decide they don’t like the policy after all.

The AES project, for instance, is moving forward despite opposition from residents that dates back a decade, said state Sen. Gil Riviere, whose district includes Kahuku. Riviere said a critical issue is that the permitting and approval process for projects allows little room for public input to stop a project that a community opposes.

“Unless that changes, I don’t think this is the last time that’s going to be a controversy,” Riviere said.

“It’s a concern, for sure,” Jeff Mikulina, executive director of the Blue Planet Foundation which promotes renewable energy, said about the opposition to Na Pua Makani. “And it’s really, really unfortunate that the developer kind of really screwed up on the North Shore.

“The good news,” Mikulina added, “is we don’t see a lot of the pushback from projects that just kind of go through quietly. By and large, mostly smaller projects have done that. There hasn’t been a lot of pushback on those.”

AES, the developer of the North Shore project, responded to an interview request with a one-sentence statement saying, “AES looks forward to continue working with the people of Hawai‘i toward a future where locally produced renewable energy powers communities across the state.”

While the proposed measures show policymakers are responding to public concerns, none pose an immediate problem for AES’ project, or any others. For example, a House bill that would have created a 1-mile setback between windmills and farm houses on agriculture land was amended in the Senate to let the wind energy projects be set up closer to dwellings.

“It’s a concern, for sure,” Jeff Mikulina, executive director of the Blue Planet Foundation which promotes renewable energy, said about the opposition to Na Pua Makani. “And it’s really, really unfortunate that the developer kind of really screwed up on the North Shore.

“The good news,” Mikulina added, “is we don’t see a lot of the pushback from projects that just kind of go through quietly. By and large, mostly smaller projects have done that. There hasn’t been a lot of pushback on those.”

AES, the developer of the North Shore project, responded to an interview request with a one-sentence statement saying, “AES looks forward to continue working with the people of Hawai‘i toward a future where locally produced renewable energy powers communities across the state.”

While the proposed measures show policymakers are responding to public concerns, none pose an immediate problem for AES’ project, or any others. For example, a House bill that would have created a 1-mile setback between windmills and farm houses on agriculture land was amended in the Senate to let the wind energy projects be set up closer to dwellings.

Source:  By Stewart Yerton | Honolulu Civil Beat | March 29, 2020 | www.civilbeat.org

This article is the work of the source indicated. Any opinions expressed in it are not necessarily those of National Wind Watch.

The copyright of this article resides with the author or publisher indicated. As part of its noncommercial educational effort to present the environmental, social, scientific, and economic issues of large-scale wind power development to a global audience seeking such information, National Wind Watch endeavors to observe “fair use” as provided for in section 107 of U.S. Copyright Law and similar “fair dealing” provisions of the copyright laws of other nations. Send requests to excerpt, general inquiries, and comments via e-mail.

Wind Watch relies entirely
on User Funding
   Donate via Paypal
(via Paypal)
Donate via Stripe
(via Stripe)

Share:

e-mail X FB LI TG TG Share


News Watch Home

Get the Facts
CONTACT DONATE PRIVACY ABOUT SEARCH
© National Wind Watch, Inc.
Use of copyrighted material adheres to Fair Use.
"Wind Watch" is a registered trademark.

 Follow:

Wind Watch on X Wind Watch on Facebook

Wind Watch on Linked In Wind Watch on Mastodon