The Puna Geothermal Venture power plant is nearly back to full capacity.
That’s according to PGV officials who hosted a quarterly meeting Tuesday at the Pahoa Neighborhood Facility to answer questions and provide updates to the community.
PGV officials said the plant now is averaging 35 megawatts of power, which brings the daily output up to the standards set prior to the 2018 Kilauea eruption, which damaged the facility and forced it to be taken offline.
PGV officials previously have said the plant’s maximum output is 38 megawatts.
A couple months ago, PGV was generating about 12 megawatts to 13 megawatts on average, so the jump in output has been good for the operation, according to plant manager Jordan Hara.
“Our new production well, 22, that we put online is doing really well and has allowed us to jump up quite a lot in power, so we are close to full capacity,” Hara said. “We are using all of our equipment, and this is the break we needed. It’s been a tough road to get back where we’re at.”
While PGV anticipates doing injection well work as early as next month and reworking another well next year, there are no plans to drill any new wells at this time.
“When we rework a well, we’re analyzing it, seeing if we want to go in a different direction to increase flow there,” Hara said. “It just means we’re making it more efficient.”
Michael Kaleikini, Ormat’s senior director of Hawaii affairs, facilitated the meeting and answered questions submitted online and those that were asked during the meeting.
Attendees expressed concerns about the impact the plant has on the health of people living nearby.
One attendee said that after reporting her daughter was sick from the plant’s gasses in January, there was no follow-up from PGV or Hawaii County.
Kaleikini responded by saying that everyone who works at the plant has been safe and healthy, although they use personal protection gear, which was pointed out by another resident.
A concern regarding seismic activity also was brought up, but Hara responded by saying there was seismic activity every day in lower Puna before PGV was ever built.
While many of PGV’s community meetings have been contentious and tense, Tuesday’s was more mild and calm, according to Kaleikini.
PGV also announced its next community update meeting will be Jan. 23 at the Pahoa Neighborhood Facility.
For those who were unable to attend in person, the meeting was recorded and will be made available on the PGV website at punageothermalproject.com.
Additionally, residents with questions or concerns can reach out to PGV’s toll-free response line at (808) 369-9094.
Email Kelsey Walling at kwalling@hawaiitribune-herald.com.