State proposals to pursue geothermal development on the Big Island are still going strong.
Two bills in the Legislature, House Bill 1307 and Senate Bill 1269, would allocate funds to two different state agencies — the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands and the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, respectively — to investigate options for geothermal production.
Both measures have successfully crossed over to the opposite chamber. But while the House bill has received some pushback from Native Hawaiians concerned about the impacts of geothermal development on DHHL lands, geothermal advocates are rallying around the Senate bill.
Geothermal consultant Gavin Murphy made the rounds in the state tlast week, meeting with lawmakers, University of Hawaii officials, and Hawaii County Mayor Kimo Alameda to discuss the potential for geothermal development on the Big Island.
Murphy previously worked for Native Hawaiian-owned geothermal development company Innovations Development Group help plan geothermal energy facilities in New Zealand. Those experiences, he said, could help guide how to explore the Big Island’s geothermal resources without exploiting or harming its communities.
“In New Zealand, most of the geothermal resource is under lands owned by the Maori trusts,” Murphy said, referring to collective land ownership agreements for Maori land common in New Zealand. “The community model we followed allowed for genuine partnership between (IDG) and the community.”
For example, Murphy said, the agreements struck between the Maori trustees and IDG allowed for the Maori landowners to receive a share of the geothermal facility’s business, and ensured the community remained at the table for decisions regarding the plant.
Similar arrangements, Murphy suggested, could be explored on the Big Island. He said Hawaii collects royalties from geothermal plants on Hawaiian home lands — which is to say, from Puna Geothermal Venture, the only geothermal plant that operates in the state.
Geothermal development also could be a source of significant economic development beyond energy, Murphy said, explaining that the New Zealand facilities produce as a byproduct heated water that can be used for other commercial purposes, such as drying timber or milk powder.
Ultimately, Murphy strongly supports SB 1269 in particular, because it — unlike HB 1307 — specifically calls for DBEDT to explore the commercial viability of utility-scale geothermal production.
“We can’t just be doing science for its own sake,” Murphy said, explaining that, if Hawaii is to meet its goal of being 100% powered by renewable energy by 2035, commercial investment needs to be involved.
He added that, with IDG’s access to the University of Auckland’s Geosciences Department — a world-class resource, he said — DBEDT and IDG are in the best position to go forward.
Neither bill has been referred to a committee in their opposite chamber yet.
Email Michael Brestovansky at mbrestovansky@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
