Castle & Cooke holds on to wind project

Officials from Castle & Cooke Inc. said Wednesday the pending sale of Lanai to billionaire Larry Ellison will not affect its plans to build a controversial 200-megawatt wind energy project and ship the power to Oahu via undersea cable.

Castle & Cooke has invested considerable time and money in the wind project, which was first proposed by company owner David Murdock in 2007 as part of a green energy plan intended to help diversify the island’s limited economy.

In addition to his home on Lanai, Murdock will “retain the rights to develop a potential wind farm on the remote northwestern corner of the island,” Castle & Cooke said in a news release announcing the sale.

Meteorological towers Castle & Cooke put up in 2007 have proven that Lanai’s wind resource “is one of the best in the world,” said Chris Lovvorn, director of alternative energy for Castle & Cooke. The company also conducted a habitat conservation plan for the project, and has employed 10 people full time since November 2011, doing archaeological surveys in the  project area.

Robin Kaye, spokesman for Friends of Lanai, which opposes the wind project, said he was disappointed to hear that plans for it would continue even with a new owner taking over the island.