Reported by: Gina Mangieri
Email: gmangieri@khon2.com
Last Update: 6/10 8:33 pm
A nearly $1 billion clean energy project is getting underway that will allow neighbor island wind to power Oahu homes and businesses.
The contractor has been selected for the environmental study of an undersea cable that will deliver wind energy from Molokai and Lanai.
The windy city moniker may already be taken, but few can claim the title the windy isle better than Molokai or Lanai.
"The wind that we have here in Hawaii, and actually the wind that the people of Molokai and the people of Lanai have, is some of the best wind in the world," said Renewable energy Facilitator, Josh Strickler.
It’s a source of power that can help offset the state’s oil dependency.
"The incident in the gulf is shocking, it’s tragic. In light of this our need to decrease Hawaii’s addiction to oil is even more evident," said Lt. Governor, Duke Aiona.
To do that means not only harnessing power sources like wind but also transmitting it to Oahu to make any real dent in oil usage.
That’s where the undersea cable comes in.
The nearly billion dollar project first has to clear an environmental review by selected contractor AECOM that looks at a range of impacts from coral to marine mammals to water quality.
The route and placement of the cable won’t be predetermined.
"In the past some of these projects that have come up have come in and said this is where it’s going to go and this is how it’s going to look and we’ll do an EIS to kind of work around that," said Strickler. "We’re trying to do this process the right way for the first time in a long time in my opinion."
The rest of the project, called the Interisland Wind Initiative, will involve wind farms on the outer islands, and for that a community benefits package is in the works.
Strickler adds, "What we’re going to ask the people of Molokai and Lanai to do is give up a significant part of their islands for the benefit of their islands, so what we need to figure out is what is the right benefit for those islands."
The $2.9 million study will be paid for by federal stimulus money. The state hopes to select a developer by this fall, with a goal to complete the project by 2014.
3 news stories about Hawaii Wind Farm:
Construction starting for Kahuku wind farm, Oahu Hawaii wind power
Oahu wind farm breaks ground on North Shore, Hawaii Wind Power!
