GEOTHERMAL IS A RED-HOT TOPIC

Many people in Hawaii think geothermal electricity is a great renewable-energy idea, unless you

happen to live in Puna, the epicenter of both geothermal and the opposition to it. Pictured

above: Puna Geothermal Venture in Hawai’i courtesy Hawaiian Electric

John Stickler November, 2013 Hawaii Business

Some things are almost impossible to oppose: Mom, apple pie and renewable

energy. After all, renewable energy promises independence from world oil

prices, fewer greenhouse gases and, possibly, lower prices. For many people

in Hawaii, geothermal perfectly fulfills that promise – energy that is

relatively cheap, plentiful and always on. For others, especially people living

close to the existing geothermal energy site in the Puna District of Hawaii

Island, geothermal energy is not a promise but a threat – a dangerous

experiment that could injure and kill.

This year is the centennial of the world’s first geothermal-generated

electricity, which occurred in Italy. Today, geothermal electricity is produced

in eight U.S. states and 23 foreign countries, according to the Geothermal

Energy Association. Nearly 40 more countries have projects at some stage of

development. Advocates say decades of global experience undeniably prove

the value of geothermal power. However, opponents say Hawaii’s unique

situation defies easy comparisons with other locations.

The local debate has heated up this year for two reasons. One was a blowout

of toxic gas in March, the first significant incident in Puna in 22 years and

one that renewed opponents’ resistance to geothermal. The other reason is

that Hawaii Island’s power utility, the Hawaii Electric Light Co., is ready to

more than double its use of geothermal power. HELCO asked for and

received six confidential proposals to provide up to 50 additional megawatts

of geothermal power to its islandwide transmission grid. HELCO’s current

peak demand is less than 200 mw, so new and existing geothermal generation

could combine to supply almost half of the Island’s peak energy needs.

“Moving forward on geothermal is important to Hawaii Island because we

want to increase our use of renewable energy and bring down costs for our

customers, while also ensuring reliable service,” says HELCO president Jay

Ignacio. “At the same time we’re pursuing bidders who are committed to

thoroughly addressing environ-mental, community and cultural concerns.”

The Puna district already supplies HELCO with 38 mw of power, thanks to

the generating plant run by Puna Geothermal Ventures. PGV has been

tapping superhot brine deep beneath the surface since 1993, using its steam to

run turbines and feeding the resulting power to the grid. The long-term plans

are ambitious. Many people statewide think that, in time, it would be a great

idea to lay an underwater cable so other islands could share electricity

generated by Hawaii Island’s vast geothermal resources.

The Native Hawaiian community is divided on the issue. Some Hawaiians

believe that it would be sacrilege to drill into and extract energy from Mauna

Loa, home of the volcano goddess Pele and one of the world’s most active

volcanoes.

Above: Pele, the Hawaiian goddess of fire, volcanoes and the creator of the Hawaian Islands.

Painting by Herb Kane

“What do you think drilling is? There is no ‘small’ rape – rape is rape! There

is no such thing as ‘clean’ geothermal,” exclaimed Palikapu Dedman,

founder of the Pele Defense Fund, at a rally in July in Pahoa, less than four

miles from the site of PGV’s plant.

Other Hawaiians, such as Pat Kahawaiolaa, say the free energy from the earth

is a gift from the goddess and we should be grateful for her bounty. “This

island could run on geothermal easily. To me, geothermal is a no-brainer,”

says the retired postal worker, who was appointed by the state to the

Geothermal Working Group.

His view is echoed by the Innovations Development Group, a company that

says it is mostly owned by Native Hawaiians and wants to harness

geothermal energy in a sustainable way while preserving cultural traditions.

IDG helped the Maori people in New Zealand to develop geothermal energy

under the premise that all natural resources belonged to them before

European colonists arrived, and they should receive some of the benefits

from new developments.

IDG calls it a native-to-native business model and now seeks to apply the

same principle in Hawaii. The company recently received a $600,000

investment from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and leased a 400-acre parcel

in Puna.

Although HELCO’s request for proposals forbids IDG from confirming it,

it’s a safe bet that IDG is one of HELCO’s geothermal bidders.

Global History

The first geothermal power plant in New Zealand opened in 1958 and

geothermal now supplies about 10 percent of the nation’s electricity,

according to the New Zealand Geothermal Association.

Geothermal has an even longer history in Iceland, where legend has it that

people first used geothermal heat 1,000 years ago to warm their homes and

bathed in the hot water. But it wasn’t until the first oil-price shock of the

1970s that Iceland used geothermal heat to generate electricity. Today, the

National Energy Authority says, 30 percent of Iceland’s electricity is

produced by geothermal sources and most of the rest comes from

hydroelectric dams.

Iceland has abundant geothermal energy because it lies on a crack in the

Earth’s crust where the North American and Eurasian plates are pulling apart.

That makes it very different from the volcanic geothermal energy that lies

beneath Hawaii Island, which is generated by a volcanic hotspot, not shifting

continental plates. New Zealand, with both active and dormant volcanoes, is

a better comparison with Hawaii’s situation.

Proponents of geothermal development in Hawaii also often point to

California, where power has been safely generated with underground steam

sources since 1960. Comparison is tricky. Hawaii has one well; it is hot and

toxic. California has scores of wells and they vary from hot to “cold” (below

212 degrees Fahrenheit). Compare Puna with the town of Calistoga in Napa

County where mineral-rich water is tapped, cooled and bottled as a health

tonic.

Facilities found in populated areas are primarily low temperature and

therefore less toxic.

California wells produce both steam and hot water (the hotter the water the

more contaminants are leached from the bedrock) and gases. Naturally

occurring pollutants in both states and other geothermal sites worldwide

include heavy metals, ammonia, sulfur dioxide and hydrogen sulfide.

Hydrogen sulfide, or H2S, is the main fear of Puna residents: It is invisible,

smells like rotten eggs and works like carbon monoxide or cyanide gas on the

human respiratory system. That means prolonged exposure or high levels can

kill you.

From 1982 to 1999, there were 38 documented leaks, repairs and Civil

Defense emergencies from either the original, experimental, government-

sponsored, three-megawatt plant, named Hawaii Geothermal Project – A, and

Puna Geothermal Venture’s subsequent 38 mw generating facility. HGP-A

closed in 1989.

40 years of study

University of Hawaii geochemist Don Thomas was on the job when HGP-A

was drilled in Puna in 1976 next door to where the PGV facility now stands.

He spent more than a dozen years testing and monitoring the hot mix jetting

up the pipe from more than a mile deep. After 40 years of researching

Hawaii’s geothermal re-sources, if anyone knows what Pele’s gift is

comprised of, it’s Don Thomas. He dismisses the current anti-drilling

activism as “a longstanding disinformation campaign.” After all, he points

out, HELCO’s Kanoelehua-Hill plant, which burns oil to generate electricity,

“dumps 500 pounds of sulfur dioxide – a no less environmentally and

physiologically damaging compound – into the atmosphere every hour.”

As for hydrogen sulfide, he reminded me that OSHA safety rules allow well

workers to remain in an atmosphere of 10 parts per million for an eight-hour

day, five days a week. Further, occasional spikes of 15 parts per million are

authorized for up to 15 minutes, the major risk being eye irritation.

Geothermal plants are not the only thing harnessing the underground warmth and energy of

Hawaii’s magma. Ahalanui Hot Pond, shown above, is a recreational area naturally heated by

Pele and is one of many hot ponds and hot springs on the Big Island. Photo by Donald

MacGowan

“When I was conducting analyses of geothermal steam samples, the air in my

lab consistently had five to 10 parts per million of H2S for hours at a stretch,”

he says. “High concentrations can be dangerous, and this compound, like any

other, needs to be treated with respect at those concentrations. Recent

research, however, has begun to show that lower levels of exposure to

hydrogen sulfide may actually be therapeutic.”

At the same time, Thomas recalls standing near the original well when steam

discharged at 300-400 degrees Fahrenheit with an H2S content of 800 ppm.

The worst geothermal incident occurred in 1991, when a pressure pipe

ruptured and vented 2,200 pounds of H2S into surrounding neighborhoods.

At least 75 Puna residents were evacuated from their homes for several days.

Geoff Last vividly remembers that incident.

“I have lived in Puna for 29 years and witnessed and experienced geothermal

energy,” says Last, now retired from his flower-growing business. “When I

first arrived here, I believed in geothermal – free, clean, green and wonderful.

The Department of Health allowed open venting and dumping of waste on

the ground. My son used to ride home on the school bus through clouds of

H2S and heavy metals and tell me about the smell and how he did not feel so

good. I was busy building my home and my flower business and still believed

in the Health Department and geothermal. Then the blowout in 1991: We

were told to leave our homes. I got educated.”

Last is a board member of the Puna Pono Alliance, a citizens’ group that

opposes more geothermal plants in the Puna District.

The 1991 leak was followed by 22 years with no major incidents from the

PGV plant before another blowout on March 13 of this year. One of the two

transmission lines to HELCO was down for repairs and the second one failed.

Before the turbines could be turned off, raw, toxic steam was released into

the PVG compound and the neighboring community.

A hazmat team and other emergency crews responded, but no one was

injured and no evacuation was ordered; the highest reading of H2S detected

outside the PGV site by the Hawaii County Fire Department was three parts

per million. County Civil Defense doesn’t order an evacuation unless the leak

is not contained and if sustained readings of at least 10 ppm are detected.

Mike Kaleikini, senior director of Hawaiian Affairs for Ormat Technologies,

the parent company of PGV, greeted me in July at his office on the PGV

compound. It is a low, wooden, prefab structure that can be moved in case of

seismic event or volcanic emergency. HELCO required that bids on the new

geothermal power generation be kept secret, so Kaleikini would neither

confirm nor deny if PGV was a bidder. But, in the past, Ormat has advocated

for geothermal expansion, so it seems likely that the company was among the

six bidders for the new project.

As we talked about the March 13 blowout, he asked, “Why is everyone so

excited about this event? We’ve had a number of leaks before.”

In the eyes of geothermal advocates, the blowout was a minor problem that

was quickly contained and posed no threat to residents. The system worked.

To opponents, the leak confirmed their suspicions that, despite 22 years of

improvements, geothermal technology was still not entirely safe. The system

doesn’t work.

Harry Kim

Another thing that has upset opponents is a move by the state Legislature to

eliminate their ability to fight geothermal through the county regulatory

process. They believe they have been robbed of their right to public input and

to present their health and safety concerns, and Harry Kim agrees with them,

even though he personally favors geothermal energy.

Kim became well known and well loved during his 16 years as civil defense

administrator for Hawaii County from 1984 to 2000. He understands the

concerns about geothermal power generation in Puna: At least 18 times

during his watch, civil defense teams were called out to monitor an H2S leak

or other emergency. He personally supervised the evacuation of downwind

homes during the 1991 blowout. “It was my job,” he tells me. Some people,

however, still criticize him for not shutting down the whole geothermal

operation when they say he had the chance.

His reputation was so strong among Hawaii Island’s people that they voted

him in as mayor in 2000 and then re-elected him in 2004. Fast forward to

Nov. 29, 2012: The soft-spoken politician, now in his 70s, had just lost his

bid to oust the incumbent mayor, Billy Kenoi. With his salt-and-pepper hair

and wearing a colorful aloha shirt, he addressed an audience in Pahoa

assembled by the Puna Pono Alliance to explain why he had run for office

again.

“I was a happily retired grandfather,” he related, but added that his relaxation

was interrupted by a disturbing phone call from a friend. “It was the first I’d

heard about Act 97.”

Protesters against the harnessing of geothermal energy line the streets of Hilo on the Big Island

of Hawai’i. Photo by Nate Gaddis.

That spring, the state Legislature had passed two new laws to expedite

development of alternative energies, a law which effectively repealed Act

296-83, which itself created six drilling “subzones” designed to restrict

exploratory operations within defined areas. Kim told the crowd that Act 97

removed all county authority to approve or deny applications for geothermal

drilling and power generation projects. The right of county home rule was

erased, he said. The second new law, Act 55, authority to authorize

exploration, had been transferred to a new entity, the Public Land

Development Corp., which also had power over other developments. Act 55

has since been repealed, though Act 97 remains in force.

“I approve of geothermal energy,” Kim told the crowd in Puna, “as long as it

respects the rights of the people. But Act 97 has no rules on where to drill, no

rules for a county permitting process. It took it all away. Act 97 must be

repealed. That is why I ran.”

Among the local residents in the audience was Russell Ruderman, the newly

elected state senator from Puna. That evening, Kim asked for his help at the

Legislature to overturn Act 97 and reinstate home rule. Early this year,

Ruderman introduced a bill to repeal Act 97 and Kim flew to Honolulu to

testify on its behalf.

Their efforts were in vain. “It was the worst day of my life,” Kim said after

the Legislature blocked the repeal effort. But Ruderman hasn’t given up. He

confirms that in the upcoming legislative session, he will introduce a bill to

amend Act 97 to restore county oversight over the permitting process for

geothermal projects.

As spelled out by the schedule in HELCO’s Geothermal Request for

Proposals, the six bids received by April 30, 2013, were to be evaluated and

the winners selected by the end of August 2013. But the winners were not

announced then and it may be March 2014 before HELCO announces which

company or companies are selected to complete the next phase of geothermal

energy generation.

Puna Concerns

Puna is the easternmost of Hawaii Island’s nine districts. On its own, it is

almost the size of Kauai, and is a mix of agricultural and residential

properties, with a few commercial and tourist locations, too. Those opposed

to geothermal don’t want new power plants in Puna or any industrial

development that might come with them.

Their list of concerns is long: health and safety questions; the vibrations and

noise of 12-hour-per-day drilling; potential pollution of groundwater;

construction traffic congestion on narrow and sometimes one-lane roads; new

overhead transmission lines and mandated easements through private

property; evacuation plans for schoolchildren and others; and more.

Two new areas of concern have recently been added.

Earthquakes have been a constant on the Big Island since Pele was born, but

now there are fears that underground “fracking” may intensify or even cause

earthquakes. To date, high-pressure fracturing of deep rock layers has been

primarily used for natural gas and oil development. But now the new

technology, called advanced or enhanced hydrolic fracturing, where cold

water is pumped down into hot rock formations to produce steam, is being

introduced at some geothermal developments (see sidebar on page 131 for

one case in Switzerland). Fracking has not previously been used in Hawaii,

but some opponents raise this concern: If the geological formations beneath

Puna are not porous enough for other geothermal methods, will the winning

bidders resort to fracking? As on the mainland, there are fears in Hawaii

about fracking, which some scientists believe may have triggered

earthquakes.

A bill to ban fracking passed Hawaii County Council on a 7-0 vote, with two

members absent, during first reading in October.

Puna Pono Alliance members also fear that new sources of electric power

could attract energy-intensive industries to the area. IDG, one of the likely

bidders on the new geothermal plant, is promoting its native-to-native

business model. “IDG intends to make ancillary steam available to create

low-cost power for small businesses and agriculture,” says an IDG ad.

Hawaii is the state most dependent on fossil fuels to generate electricity, so,

in 2008, the state government partnered with the federal Department of

Energy to establish the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative. The main goal: For

Hawaii to meet 70 percent of its energy needs by 2030 through energy

efficiency and renewable energy. With a combination of local solar, hydro,

wind and geothermal, Hawaii Island is already leading the way, with

renewables supplying more than 40 percent of its total electricity usage.

Another 50 megawatts of geothermal power would put Hawaii Island even

further ahead on renewable energy.

The key question is: Can Hawaii produce geothermal in a safe and healthy

way? To provide the last word on that subject, I turned to Jeff Mikulina, who

has both strong environmental and renewable-energy credentials. He’s the

former director of the Sierra Club’s Hawaii chapter and currently serves as

executive director of the Blue Planet Foundation, a nonprofit that advocates

for all forms of renewable energy.

“We are bullish on geothermal,” Mikulina says. “It is the largest alternative

resource in Hawaii. There are lessons to be learned from New Zealand, where

projects were handled respectfully.

“(In Hawaii) we should engage the community. At the same time,” he

cautions, “we must compare the relative impacts of burning oil versus the

potential impacts of geothermal projects.”

***