High alert on Hawaii island

The hard, black surface beneath the homes and businesses of Puna district has the illusion of permanence — but the residents, now threatened by erupting lava, know better.

Aided by a proclamation freeing up aid, and state and county emergency management and civil defense agencies overseeing an orderly evacuation, residents of Leilani Estates and Lanipuna Gardens will be able to save what’s most essential: their families’ lives and a smattering of possessions.

Properties here have lived on borrowed time, although this particular area hasn’t seen a lava flow in many years. The worry is less that people will escape to shelters — most of Hawaii island eruptions are slow-moving disasters — but they can be disastrous nonetheless.

The coming days will be telling, about how long people will remain vacated from their homes. Vulcanologists who have been queried think this eruption may be establishing a new lava flow field, so action could be prolonged for months — or longer.

Homes already have been destroyed, and there could be many more. But even if the flow abates relatively soon, and many structures are spared, the uncertainty could weaken community bonds.

People could decide that they’ve had enough of watchfulness and pull up stakes for good. Even if most stay on, the ongoing safety and health conditions mean that normalcy still lies some distance away.

Let’s all hope the damage is measured, and that life can resume. At any rate, Puna will need everyone’s help for some time to come.

Warming up to UH solar power

Mark your calendars: A year from now, the University of Hawaii Maui College expects to be totally energy self-sufficient, thanks to solar power generated from rooftops and parking lots, and storage of energy in batteries.

That’s good news indeed, if Hawaii is to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels, bit by bit. A well-publicized Hawaii law mandates 100 percent renewable-energy by 2045 for the entire state; perhaps less known is that the UH system is legally required by 2035 to be “net zero,” producing as much energy as it consumes.

UH’s Maui campus is leading that way to 100 percent, but further good news is that the other community colleges are not far behind. By April, using a combination of new solar generation and energy-efficiency measures, Leeward Community College expects to reduce its use of fossil fuels by 98 percent; Honolulu Community College by 97 percent; Kapiolani Community College by 74 percent; and Windward Community College by 70 percent.

The array of strategies toward success includes dramatic improvements in PV technology, including battery storage, as well as switches to more efficient equipment, such as to LED lighting from fluorescent.

Let’s see that the cost estimates pencil out: A series of two-phase contracts at the five UH campuses — with Johnson Controls and Pacific Current, a Hawaiian Electric Industries subsidiary — cost $63 million in borrowed funds. With projected savings of $171 million from 2013 to 2032 — due to lower energy costs under power-purchase pacts and reduced spending on outmoded equipment — it’s expected that those savings will pay off the debt service.

Glaringly absent from all this sunny news was the UH’s flagship Manoa campus — described as a mini-city unto itself, thus much larger and more complex. But if successes seen on the smaller campuses can propel UH-Manoa conversions, the green energy future is looking brighter, and closer, than expected.

Hopes for Ala Wai driving range

Critics who are instantly, well, teed off about the proposed plan for the Ala Wai Golf Course should be more considered.

It’s not as if the vast 18-hole public course or its clubhouse will be replaced or razed; they won’t be, and both will remain even if the proposed $50 million Topgolf Hawaii project is approved by the City Council and the state Board of Land and Natural Resources.

Instead, the public-private venture is proposed for the 7.26-acre driving range area: a new multilevel high-tech driving range of up to four stories, with 170-foot-tall fence-like ball barriers, using microchipped balls. Envisioned are 108 hitting bays, meeting rooms, dining and event spaces, keiki play areas and a rooftop lanai.

This won’t be your father’s, or grandfather’s, driving range — but maybe that’s altogether negative. Consider, for instance, that attendance at the Ala Wai course once peaked at about 220,000 rounds annually, but has since dropped to 120,000 rounds. And then there’s the potential quadrupling of gross revenues to $2 million annually, which would help maintain the city’s six public courses.

Hear the proposal out. This reboot for the Ala Wai driving range has potential to engage a new generation of golfers in the game. For the rest, it might just be good, wholesome fun.