Ka'ū News Briefs Thursday, August 31, 2017

     Dozens of written comments and transcripts of the public meetings are included in a separate document that accompanied the filing. The plan, Modernizing Hawaiʻi’s Grid for Our Customers, "outlines near-term initiatives that strengthen the grid through investments in technology to enable more renewable energy resources to be safely and efficiently integrated with the grid, including private rooftop solar. Longer term, the strategy is to continue to evolve the grid as a platform to enable greater customer choice and support statewide economic development and smart communities efforts that rely on robust data and energy management systems," says the statement.

     The Companies estimate it will cost $205 million to update the energy networks of Hawaiʻi Electric Light Co, Hawaiian Electric and Maui Electric over the next six years. The plan aims to help bring on more renewable resources – customer-sited and grid-sourced – increase reliability, and give customers new choices to manage their energy use. 

     The electric company names highlights of planned near-term work: 

     Distribution of smart meters strategically rather than system-wide, i.e., to customers with private rooftop solar on saturated circuits and customers interested in demand response programs, variable rates or electricity usage data; 

     To read the filing, use the following link: www.hawaiielectriclight.com/gridmod.

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COOLING KA'Ū SCHOOLS MADE THE STATE LIST of heat abatement accomplishments announced by the office of Gov. David Ige today. Ka'ū High & Elementary received ceiling fans in seven classrooms. Nā'ālehu Elementary received fans for 21 classrooms. Elsewhere air conditioning was placed in 1,000 classrooms.
     The announcement reported on heat abatement across the state, including such innovations as solar-powered ventilators at such schools as Moloka'i High and Hokulani Elementary.   
    Schools with 100 percent of classrooms with air conditioning include De Silva Elementary and Kalanianaole Elementary & Intermediate on the Big Island plus 22 schools elsewhere in the state.
    The governor reports that 22 schools now have central air conditioning, including Kea'au and Konawaena on the Big Island. The estimated cost of installing AC at all state schools is $1.7 billion. The current annual electric bill for all state schools is $48 million and would increase significantly, according to state school planners.
      An additional proposal to keep students cooler is to start school later in the year. "By law (Act 167), the school year must include 180 student instructional days. We will continue to work with unions, the Board of Education and the Legislature on this pressing issue," says the DOE statement.
See the Heat Abatement Program at Public Schools website.

HŪ HONUA, which plans to harvest 3,500 acres of eucalyptus trees on Kamehameha Schools land above Kapāpala and Pāhala, held a celebration on Wednesday to kick off the final construction phase of its $250 million power plant at the defunct Hilo Coast Processing Co. mill near Pepeekeo.
     Hawai'i Electric Light Co. has signed a contract for 21.5 megawatts with Hū Honua.
     According to a story in Hawai'i Tribune Herald today, Hū Honua envisions 30 permanent employees at the power plant, 130 ongoing forestry jobs plus 250 construction jobs to finish the power plant.
     Some 4,500 acres at the Pinnacle eucalyptus forest north of Hilo is also targeted for harvesting and the company plans to replant the tree farms to keep the energy growing. Another 10,000 acres of Kamehameha Schools land may go into production to help keep the power plant running.
    Life of the Land has filed suit in the Hawai'i Supreme Court, attempting to reverse the Public Utilities Commission approval of the project. According to Life of the Land, it is the first such suit related to climate change. See a future story on Life of the Land's stand.

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KA'Ū COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN will be considered for adoption at the Hawai'i County Council Planning Committee's next meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 6  at 9:15 a.m. The Planning Committee Agenda can be found  at hawaiicounty.granicus.com/viewpublisher.php?view_id=1 and the Ka'ū CDP Steering Committee agenda can be found at: hawaiicountycdp.info/kau-cdp/steering-committee/steering-commitee-meetings/september-6-2017. 

      Note  that although the Ka'ū CDP agenda states that the meeting will convene at 9 a.m., the County Council website has just been updated to reflect a start time of 9:15 a.m. The entire Ka'ū Community Development Plan can be read at www.hawaiicountycdp.info/kau-cdp.

                                 
                                        UPCOMING EVENTS FOR FALL TROJAN SPORTS: