A public meeting about a plan to increase power production at Puna Geothermal Venture attracted nearly universal criticism from attendees Wednesday.
PGV intends to increase its energy output from its current 38 megawatts to 60 megawatts by replacing 12 energy converters on the site with four new, more efficient models.
Mike Kaleikini, PGV’s senior director of Hawaiian affairs, said Thursday the new converters have a smaller foot print than those that would be decommissioned and have fewer moving parts, which means they are quieter.
The project will take place over two phases. The first phase will decommission the 12 converters and install three of the four planned new ones, bringing the facility’s energy output to 46 megawatts. The second phase will bring the fourth converter online, increasing output to 60.
“We have permits with the county and the Department of Land and Natural Resources to go to 60,” Kaleikini said. “We don’t know when we’ll go to 60, but we figured why not get the (environmental impact statement) for that now instead of going back and doing this again whenever we do.”
Kaleikini said a timeframe or a budget for either of the two phases has yet to be determined.
As a prelude to drafting an EIS for the project, PGV held a public scoping meeting Wednesday to gauge concerns about the proposal.
Those concerns were numerous, it turned out. For two hours, residents blasted the proposal and PGV in general, citing concerns ranging from health effects from emissions from the plant, to the effects of the plant on the volcanic activity of the island.
Several attendees said the plant has vented gases from the site 70 times in the past 30 years, to the detrimental health of Puna residents.
Attendee Rocky Jensen said the release of fumes from the plant was “enough that the ground turns yellow,” and others claimed PGV did little to alert residents about these releases.
Sierra Club member Cory Harden said PGV “defines environmental injustice,” noting that the average income of a resident of Leilani Estates — where the facility is located — is less than half of the state average, and that most residents are off-grid. Therefore, she said, residents do not reap the benefits of the plant while being exposed to health risks caused by the venting of gas or the potential detonation of 60,000 gallons of liquid pentane during the 2018 Kilauea eruption.
Other attendees warned that the state Public Utilities Commission will use PGV’s eventual environmental impact statement as a blueprint to build other geothermal plants throughout the state on Hawaiian home lands.
Still others accused PGV of “induced seismicity,” wherein human activity causes seismic events such as earthquakes. Resident Sara Steiner-Jackson claimed PGV ignored scientific guidance on where to place geothermal wells and alleged PGV caused the 2018 eruption.
Seaula Tupai, the Republican lieutenant governor nominee, made a brief appearance at the meeting, congratulating the attendees for making their voices heard and reminding them that “(political) power exists within people.”
Kaleikini did not directly respond to the comments at the meeting or on Thursday when contacted by the Tribune-Herald, but said the draft EIS — which he said should be released by the end of the year — will address substantive comments raised by public testimony. Following that statement, there will be further opportunities for public comment.
Public comments about the EIS preparatory notice will be accepted until Aug. 22. Comments can be submitted via email to michele.lefebvre@stantec.com and planning@hawaiicounty.gov.
The notice can be read at punageothermalproject.com/eis.
Email Michael Brestovansky at mbrestovansky@hawaiitribune-herald.com.