By ERIN MILLER By ERIN MILLER ADVERTISING Stephens Media Hawaii Electric Light Co. officials hope a new request for proposals will bring in geothermal developers for West Hawaii. The company would like to “have generation on that side of the
By ERIN MILLER
Stephens Media
Hawaii Electric Light Co. officials hope a new request for proposals will bring in geothermal developers for West Hawaii.
The company would like to “have generation on that side of the island, where the population load is growing faster,” than East Hawaii, where HELCO generates the majority of its power, said Curtis Beck, HELCO’s energy services manager.
HELCO filed a letter with the state Public Utilities Commission asking the PUC to open a docket. That, in turns, allows a request for proposals. HELCO will then be able to begin gathering documents about how much geothermal expansion would cost and how long it might take to get more geothermal energy being produced on the island, Beck said. A realistic time frame to see more geothermal in production is five to 10 years, he said.
The letter to the PUC estimated geothermal exploration costs as “upward of $11 million.”
HELCO would like to produce up to 50 megawatts more than what is being produced on the island now. Puna Geothermal Venture, Hawaii’s only geothermal producer, has a 30-megawatt plant.
“We believed, based on what we know, that geothermal has the potential to be extremely competitive,” not just with oil-based fuel prices, but also with other alternative energy sources, Beck said. Geothermal may also be steady enough to “support the grid,” keeping the electricity system “stable enough to stay online” when other power sources fluctuate, he added.
Right now, HELCO pays 6 to 12 cents per kilowatt hour during peak energy production times, depending on how much energy is being produced. The lowest price comes after HELCO purchases 30 megawatt hours when between 30 and 38 megawatts are being provided. Off-peak energy, at certain production levels, also costs 6 cents per kilowatt hour. According to HELCO’s letter, the company pays Wailuku River Hydro and Hawi Renewable Development Inc. about 20 cents per kilowatt hour during peak and about $0.15 cents per kilowatt hour during off-peak hours. Those rates are based on avoided cost — a price tied to the cost HELCO would be paying for the energy if it were oil-based energy production.
The company is hoping for technology that can regulate output “hour by hour and minute by minute,” Beck said.
The PUC should act fairly quickly in opening the docket, he said. The target date to begin production is 2018 to 2023.
The PUC will also be collecting community input on geothermal, Beck said.
“We definitely need input from the public,” he added. “The public needs to start thinking about this. The feeling there is public acceptance (of geothermal) is a relative one. It depends on who you talk to.”
Email Erin Miller at emiller@westhawaiitoday.com.
