Despite roadblocks, Olson optimistic about Ka’u power plans

A project to bring water to a Ka‘u coffee farm, generate electricity to operate it and have extra power left over to create a hydrogen filling station has caught the attention of the county Agriculture Advisory Commission.

The commission Tuesday contemplated making the Edmund C. Olson Trust project a model for private-sector self-sufficient water and energy projects on agriculture land countywide. Commissioners scheduled a field trip to the area for next month.

“Ka‘u is a place where, if you just add water, you can grow anything you want,” said Chairman Tim Richards.

But bringing the project up to speed will take more than just adding water. The Keaiwa Reservoir, the source of water for the coffee farm and proposed hydroelectric plant, was damaged in the 1983 earthquake, leaving cracks about halfway up the side of the 12.8-million-gallon structure.

Olson currently is working to repair the reservoir so it can hold its full capacity, rather than the roughly 5 million gallons it can hold now. To bring it back to full use, he’ll need permits from the state Department of Land and Natural Resources. That’s a much more difficult proposal in light of tough new restrictions imposed following the 2006 deaths of seven people when the Ka Loko dam on Kauai burst.

“We’re working with DLNR on an acceptable repair plan to return the reservoir to its originally designed capacity,” said John Cross, Olson land manager.

A break in the dam holding the reservoir wouldn’t have the catastrophic effect that Ka Loko suffered because the water would simply flow down existing stream beds well away from homes in the sparsely populated area, agriculture commissioners noted. Nor would the water flood existing streams, as there are no natural streams in all of the Ka‘u District.

“I understand taking care of our streams,” Richards said, “but there’s a balance there.”

Alternatively, Cross said, the landowner could use just the 5 million gallon per day capacity in the bottom of the now dry reservoir, which would generate less electricity, but still might be better than nothing.

An enthusiastic Olson already purchased a liner for the reservoir and equipment to build the hydroelectric plant, but his purchases might have been a bit premature.

The original plans were to produce 400 kw of electricity, enough to operate the Ka‘u Coffee Mill and have enough left over to power 400 Pahala homes. But negotiations with Hawaii Electric Light Co. fell through when Olson was told he would have to pay to upgrade about 2 miles of power lines along Wood Valley Road, at a cost of about $1 million, before HELCO would accept the power.

Olson also could use the power to replace propane burners in the coffee heating plant, creating a 100 percent green energy operation.

“It would be exciting to have this powered completely by water,” Cross said.

Email Nancy Cook Lauer at ncook-lauer@westhawaiitoday.com.