The University of Hawaii has made it official: the Thirty Meter Telescope site will be the last spot on Mauna Kea to be developed for astronomy.
The University of Hawaii has made it official: the Thirty Meter Telescope site will be the last spot on Mauna Kea to be developed for astronomy.
UH in a statement Monday announced it sent state Department of Land and Natural Resources Chairwoman Suzanne Case a letter confirming no new telescope sites will be used after the giant telescope, which has faced strong opposition from Native Hawaiians, is complete. (The $1.4 billion project’s land use permit is being challenged in Hawaii Supreme Court.)
Officials had said as much, but the letter meets a request from Gov. David Ige that the university put that commitment in writing.
According to a press release, UH President David Lassner said in the letter it “shall constitute a legally binding commitment and may be regarded as a condition of the University of Hawaii’s current lease(s) and of any lease renewal or extension proposed by the university.”
UH’s lease for the mountain, which allows the telescopes to operate, ends in 2033.
Thirteen telescopes now exist on Mauna Kea. Three were selected for early decommissioning, and the state said those sites won’t be reused.
With TMT being the last new site on the mountain, the move from the university effectively caps the future number of telescopes at 11.
UH’s commitment doesn’t prevent other telescope sites from being redeveloped.
Email Tom Callis at tcallis@hawaiitribune-herald.com.