A group that plans to develop a hydroelectric energy project on former sugar cane land near Waimea Canyon on Kauai has partnered with a Canadian energy company that will bring additional financing and expertise to the venture.
Kruger Energy, based in Montreal, has taken a majority interest in the Puu Lua Hydropower Project being developed by Pacific Light and Power and Orenco Hydropower, said Palo Luckett, president and CEO of Kauai-based PLP. Orenco is headquartered in Palo Alto, Calif.
"The main reason we pushed for a relationship with Kruger is they have a lot of experience with hydroelectric power," Luckett said. "This is the natural next step in the process."
The Puu Lua project would be built on state land and use water from the Kokee Ditch irrigation system to drive two hydroelectric generators with a combined capacity of 8.6 megawatts. The project’s developers plan to provide the electricity to a local farmers’ cooperative and sell any excess power to the Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative.
The developers received approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in April 2012 to proceed with the project, and groundbreaking is tentatively scheduled for April 2014, Luckett said.
However, a major hurdle still facing Pacific Light and Power is reaching an agreement to sell power from the project to KIUC. Luckett acknowledged discussions with KIUC have not been frui
tful, but he said he was hopeful an agreement could be reached. "Ultimately, we think it’s in the best interest of their members," Luckett said.
The utility, which is pursuing its own hydroelectric plans for the Kokee Ditch, hasn’t had an
y conversations with PLP "in months," KIUC spokesman Jim Kelly said. KIUC has a partnership with Boston-based Free Flow Power to develop at least five hydro projects on Kauai, including one that uses the Kokee Ditch.
"We’re moving ahead with our plans for the project and are talking with various state agencies," Kelly said. "We think we can build the project and generate power more cheaply than a private developer. And, ultimately members of KIUC will own the project, not some offshore investors."
PLP first disclosed the addition of Kruger Energy as a partner in the project during a recent meeting of the state Agribusiness Development Corp. The ADC oversees large-tract agricultural land and water projects in the state, including the Kekaha agricultural lands where the Kokee Ditch is located.
The Kekaha Agriculture Association, whose members farm the former sugar cane lands, signed a memorandum of understanding with PLP in 2010 supporting the Puu Lua project.
The Puu Lua project would include a pipe laid within the Kokee Ditch that would collect water from the Puu Lua Reservoir at an elevation of 3,270 feet and carry it about six miles downslope to the first of two hydroelectric power plants at an elevation of 1,900 feet, according to an environmental report prepared for the project. A second above-ground pipe would carry the water five more miles to another generating station at an elevation of about 180 feet.
After running through the second power plant, the water would be collected in a 5-million-gallon reservoir managed by the Kekaha Agriculture Association, which would use the water for irrigation, according to the environmental report.
