Ka‘ū News Briefs, Saturday, Jan. 29, 2022

A new video and story on the the history of the last ten years at Kīlauea Volcano is available through Volcano Awareness  Month with numerous presentations that can be read and seen at https://www.usgs.gov/observatories/hvo/news

SUSTAINABLE ENERGY HAWAI'I PRESENTS GEOTHERMAL POWER-OPTIONS FOR HAWAI'I'S FUTURE in a free virtual webinar on Saturday, Feb. 5, from 10 - 11:30 a.m. The Zoom event will be at bit.ly/geothermalpower.
    Sustainabile Energy Hawai'i Chair Richard Ha said, “I’ve spent years studying what’s happening with oil, and it’s clear that within ten years, we’re really going to start seeing the consequences of declining fossil fuels. Prices of everything will keep going up, and that will put pressure on what I call the ‘rubbah slippah’ folks. That’s those of us out here who are just trying to raise our families. We can’t afford endless discussions about what to do about it. We need to make decisions and changes now.”
    Ha, who is known as a successful farmer and businessman on Hawai'i Island, contends that the solution is geothermal energy. "Hawai‘i Island is lucky to be among the few locations in the world with prime geothermal conditions. Scientists tell us that Hawai‘i will be over the “hot spot” and have geothermal activity for more than a million years. By creating and using energy from our geothermal resources, Hawai‘i’s people will be able to achieve independence from gas and oil imports,

Richard Ha advocates for more geothermal.

enjoy lower energy costs, and have opportunities to diversify the economy. It will also contribute to the emissions reductions critical to solving climate change."
    Speakers and panelists at the Feb 5 webinar include Ha; SEH board member Peter Sternlicht; Dr. Donald Thomas of the University of Hawai‘i Manoa’s School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology; Dr. Nicole Lautze of the University of Hawai‘i Manoa’s Hawai‘i Ground Water and Geothermal Resource Center; Mike Kaleikini, Puna Geothermal Venture; Mililani Trask, Attorney; and State Representative Nicole Lowen.
    Ha will provide an overview. He’ll talk about how using more geothermal energy can provide base power to keep our electric utility dependable and affordable, let us create a clean, hydrogen economy, and help keep Hawai‘i affordable, so our children and grandchildren don’t have to leave the islands to raise their families. Sternlicht will broadly discuss oil and energy-related natural resources, their role in everyone's lives over the past 150 years, where these stand right now, and how much longer we’ll be able to rely on them.
    Thomas will give a historical perspective on the island’s geothermal resource from its earliest days to today. Lautze, as Director of the Hawai‘i Groundwater and Geothermal Resources Center at UH Manoa, leada a team of senior scientists in developing an updated geothermal resource assessment for the state of Hawai‘i. She will discuss collecting and compiling geological, geochemical, and geophysical data across the state and developing and implementing a statistical methodology that integrates the data into a geothermal resource probability map.
    Kaleikini is Senior Director of Hawai‘i Affairs at Ormat and a former Puna Geothermal Venture plant and operations manager, will talk about where Hawai‘i Island is with geothermal energy today, how it’s regulated, where geothermal fields are located now, what development options might be in the future, and what a timeline might look like.
    Trask, Hawai‘i Island attorney and kupuna, will discuss her extensive research, knowledge, and experience of geothermal operations.
    State Rep. Nicole Lowen (District 6), Chair of the House Energy and Environmental Committee, will discuss policy and regulatory considerations and relevant measures.
    A second webinar, planned for Feb. 19, will cover obstacles to geothermal energy deployment and various strategies to address them.
    Other future SEH webinars will focus on improving the economy and lifestyle of our island’s people now and in the future. Future events will discuss Maunakea and a proposed Culture and Science Center Above the Clouds.
    “You’ll come away from our webinars knowing a lot more about the decisions we need to make now to improve life for our future generations,” said Ha.
    Sustainable Energy Hawaii (formerly Big Island Community Coalition) is a grassroots 501(c)3 non-profit "dedicated to improving the quality of life and security of life for Hawai‘i Island residents. It is an action-oriented advocacy group dedicated to raising public awareness and stimulating the political will to enable change. At Sustainable Energy Hawaii, we understand that the price of energy is the common factor affecting the cost of everything in our state. Through that lens, our vision is a future of affordable energy for Hawai‘i, produced using only local renewable resources. This will keep money in our local economy, producing economic equity, energy independence, and prosperity."