Fire officials and representatives from the energy-producing company First Wind spent Thursday surveying the company’s Kahuku wind farm to assess damage and investigate what caused the fire Wednesday that destroyed a battery-energy storage facility.
They did not, however, enter the badly damaged 9,000-square-foot building.
There is still some heat, smoke and vapor emanating from the building, but it is not a danger to the community, said Capt. Terry Seelig, Honolulu Fire Department spokesman.
The building is a key component of the system that allows the company to transmit up to 15 megawatts of wind-generated power to Hawaiian Electric Co.’s grid. It is unclear how long it will take for the plant to come back online.
Both Seelig and First Wind spokesman Kekoa Kaluhiwa said the investigation is expected to be lengthy.
"Given the structural damage to the battery storage building and residual smoke, it will take some time for technical experts and fire inspectors to safely enter the facility to investigate the cause and extent of the damage," Kaluhiwa said.
Honolulu firefighters first responded to a call from First Wind at about 4:45 a.m. Wednesday.
The battery system’s high voltage and chemicals required firefighters to use only dry chemicals to smother the blaze and prevented them from entering.
They left the scene with the fire under control at about 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.
The facility is Oahu’s only large-scale wind farm, but HECO officials emphasize it will not have an impact on customers.
In April 2011, firefighters put out a small fire in the battery room. Courthouse News Service reports that the company that designed the battery system believes that fire and another in May were caused by defective parts called capacitors.
The company is suing the parts manufacturer in Texas court, the Courthouse News Service reports online.
