The public profile of the wind energy issue has dropped lower on the viewscreen in the last six years since the adoption of the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative, in which it played a starring role. That, say the experts, is because declines in production costs have favored solar installations, which have faced less community opposition than proposals for wind turbines.

However, there are still numerous small-scale proposals still in the pipeline, according to the Hawaii State Energy Office (the full list of clean energy projects can be downloaded or viewed at energy.ehawaii.gov/epd/public/re-projects-home.html).

Here are a few standout items on the horizon:

>> Na Pua Makani is proposed by Champlin Hawaii Wind Holdings LLC, a subsidiary of Santa Barbara-based Champlin (napuamakaniwind.com). With a 24-megawatt capacity, this project would involve eight wind turbines, access roads, power lines, an operations and maintenance building and on-site substation. The target for the start of operations is the end of 2015.

>> Makani Power Inc., owned by Google, plans about a year from now to test an energy kite that can generate electricity at high altitudes. The kite flies more than 1,000 feet up on a tether, mimicking the motions of a wind turbine blade to generate its power (google.com/makani/).

>> The largest project is Lanai Wind (lanaiwind.com), Castle & Cooke’s proposed 200-400 MW facility. According to the website, plans are for 67 turbines on about 5,500 acres in northwestern Lanai.