Hawaiian Homes Commission Greenlights New Hilo Power Plant
Native Hawaiian homesteaders nearby say they are already bearing the brunt of Hilo’s garbage, sewage, oil refining and airport facilities.
The commission that oversees Hawaiian homelands granted preliminary approval to a new power plant in Hilo that could one day generate up to a third of the electricity required to power the Big Island.
The Department of Hawaiian Home Lands will get at least $40,000 a year in revenue from the biofuel project, and the developer is required to return community benefits to the Native Hawaiian homesteaders who live in the surrounding community.
However, homesteaders told the Hawaiian Homes Commission, which oversees the department, that they are already bearing the brunt of industrial services in Hilo. Their homes are close to the city’s waste transfer station and sewage treatment plant, an oil refinery and the airport, leaving them to deal with health impacts, unpleasant smells and noise.
“Everything falls on the Hawaiians, the sewage, the rubbish dump, everything,” Panaʻewa resident Jade Makua said. “Why is it always the Hawaiians?”
The Alahao renewable energy project, proposed for a 12-acre plot in Panaʻewa near Railroad Avenue, would burn diesel produced from plant oils. Hawaiʻi Land & Power, the project developer, said it would cost $250 million with funding from Lotus Infrastructure, an investment firm based in Connecticut.
Hawaiʻi Land & Power is pursuing a power purchase agreement with Hawaiian Electric Co. to eventually produce up to 60 megawatts of power, about a third of the 180 megawatts of electricity the Big Island requires daily.
Pacific Biodiesel, which has facilities in Puna, would supply the fuel for the plant, project officials said.
The commission’s vote gives the developers access to the property to begin preliminary site work and conduct environmental studies. DHHL, responsible for addressing a waitlist of 29,000 Native Hawaiian applicants waiting for homes, would receive $40,000 a year until 2028, when annual rent will go up to $60,000.
Construction is anticipated to begin in 2029. The final rent amount would be negotiated later when Hawaiʻi Land & Power enters a long-term lease.
Energy produced by the project would be transmitted to HECO’s facility just across the street.
The project will eventually need to win approval from the state’s utility regulators.
Will Residents Benefit?
Environmental concerns were top of mind for residents at hearings on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Maile Luuwai, president of the Panaʻewa Farmers Association, said she worried the new plant would be just two blocks away from a planned community center, where the association already hosts workshops and has plans for agricultural projects, as well as homes.
Luuwai wanted assurances that the project would conduct thorough environmental studies to determine the impact of emissions from the plant on surrounding communities.
Dan Giovanni, one the project’s consultants, said that the biofuel-burning plant was safe, but acknowledged that even he had concerns with plans for an on-site battery storage facility.
He referred to fires at a battery storage facility in Moss Landing, California that led to mass evacuations. Water is ineffective against lithium-ion fires, which could “burn until it burns itself out,” Giovanni said.
“That is a potential hazard that has to be seriously addressed,” he said.
HECO requires the project to provide between $90,000 and $180,000 worth of community benefits each year the facility operates, according to Hawaii Land & Power owner David Berryhill.
Homesteaders in the surrounding communities told the commission they wanted assurances that the company would follow through on its promises to deliver benefits. Homesteader John McBride said earlier projects, including the sewer plant and the airport serving Hilo, have given residents very little.
“We never benefit from none of the adverse conditions around us, not one time,” he said.
Pat Kahawaiolaa, a Keaukaha homesteader, suggested negotiating with HECO to reduce monthly electric bills for nearby homesteaders by 30% in lieu of a cash benefit.
Before voting unanimously to approve the initial permit for the project, members of the Hawaiian Homes Commission urged project leaders to spend the next three years learning from the homestead community. A strong community benefits package could also help the project when it negotiates a power-sharing agreement with HECO, said Kali Watson, the department’s chairman.
“This is a gamble on your part,” he said. “You folks are spending all this money. I want to see you win.”
