Ka`u News Briefs Tuesday, July 7, 2015

Classic in its own right, the barrel train carries keiki through Na`alehu. Photo by Peter Anderson

STATE AND HAWAIIAN HOME LANDS are being considered for geothermal sites, and the Board of Land & Natural Resources takes up permitting for research this Friday. The new study sites are all on Hualalai Volcano. South Point and the Great Crack area have also been identified as geothermal-rich but are not up for discussion. 

      University of Hawai`i researchers will use antennae and electrodes to measure electromagnetic waves on one million square meters of land at depths up to 20,000 feet below the surface.
      According to Chris D’Angelo, of Hawai`i Tribune-Herald, researcher Nicole Lautze, with the Hawai`i Institute of Geophysics and Planetology, said in her original application, “The vast majority of developed geothermal systems in the world are located in regions where water can flow naturally through the heated rock formations. Being able to identify the subsurface heat source and fractured zones allows us to begin to address some of the problems of geothermal exploration and development.”
      See hawaiitribune-herald.com.
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This classic Jeep puts the Thirty Meter Telescope issue on parade in Na`alehu. Photo by Crystal McIntosh

ACCESS TO MAUNA KEA SUMMIT is the subject of an emergency rule proposed by Hawai`i's Department of Land & Natural Resources. DLNR said in a statement issued today that the purpose of the rule is to promote safe access to the summit. The proposed rule schedules nighttime hours during which individuals may not remain within a designated restricted area and also prohibits the presence of camping-related supplies within restricted areas at all hours. The Board of Land & Natural Resources will consider the rule at at its regularly scheduled meeting this Friday.

      Attorney General Doug Chin explained, “In recent weeks dozens of people have camped on the grounds or remained parked in cars for prolonged periods, either on or near the access road to Mauna Kea. Boulders and rock walls have been placed on the road. Invasive species have been introduced. Unauthorized toilets have been placed on the grounds. Individuals remaining in the area have reportedly caused visitors and workers to feel harassed. Consumption of water, which must be trucked up the mountain, is at record high usage. All of this has occurred in a partially graveled, steeply graded area without markings or guardrails.”
      DLNR chair Suzanne Case said, “The Department of Land and Natural Resources has been delegated the power and duty to manage and regulate all lands which may be set apart as game management areas, public hunting areas and wildlife sanctuaries. The Department is authorized to promulgate rules to carry out these duties. These rules concern the preservation, protection, regulation, extension and utilization of, and conditions for entry into wildlife sanctuaries, game management areas and public hunting areas.”

The proposed rule can be reviewed online at: http://dlnr.hawaii.gov/dofaw/files/2015/07/13-123-21.2-draft.pdf.

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UH-Hilo is decomissioning its Hoku Ke`a telescope on Mauna Kea. Photo from University of Hawai`i

UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI`I AT HILO will begin the process of decommissioning Hoku Ke`a, the UH-Hilo Educational Telescope on Mauna Kea, in early 2016. According to a statement from the university, it will follow the decommissioning process outlined in the Office of Mauna Kea Management’s Comprehensive Management Plan.
      The process is expected to be completed in 2018 after Caltech Submillimeter Observatory’s scheduled decommissioning. Once the area is restored to its natural state, no new observatory will be built on the Hoku Ke`a site, the university stated.
      Caltech Observatory announced in May that it is ending operations and will also begin the decommissioning process in 2016. As with the UH-Hilo telescope, no new observatory will be built on the site.
      “It’s the only telescope that UH-Hilo manages, and it’s not currently operational,” UH-Hilo Chancellor Donald Straney told Tom Callis, of Hawai`i Tribune-Herald. Straney said he considers the move to be one step toward resolving the conflict over construction the Thirty Meter Telescope, which is currently on hold after crews were twice blocked from gaining access to the site.
      “It’s a complex set of issues and will take a complex set of steps from all of us moving forward,” Straney told Callis.
      See hawaiitribune-herald.com.
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American flag to the sky on this blue Corvette convertible. Photo by Crystal McIntosh

AN NEW ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEM used on a Big Island ranch for about two years will be available to consumers next month, reported Duane Shimogawa, of Pacific Business News. Henk Rogers, founder of Blue Planet Foundation, and his partners have developed Blue Ion, a self-contained energy storage package that combines Sony Electronic, Inc.’s lithium ion battery technology with Blue Planet Energy’s proprietary architecture and software. The system is designed to be quickly and easily installed and have a low, simple payback, according to Shimogawa.
      Rogers told Shimogawa that about one dozen Hawai`i residents, mostly on Hawai`i Island, currently have the system.
      “These are for people who are not near the grid and need to be off the grid,” Rogers told Shimogawa. “It’s completely flexible. We can tailor each system to a homeowner’s needs. We send people out to measure your electricity usage. People have crazy ways of using electricity. Maybe before you go off the grid, have someone check out the efficiency of your home.”