Ranch’s plan could cut HELCO costs

An ambitious plan to develop a renewable energy project on Hawaii island’s Parker Ranch could cut the cost of electricity to the ranch and surrounding community, according to a preliminary consultant’s report released Thursday.

Parker Ranch executives commissioned the report last fall to look at ways the 130,000-acre ranch could use its considerable renewable energy resources to create a hedge against the rising electricity rates charged by Hawaii Electric Light Co., which are more than three times the national average.

The report, produced by a team of consultants with international experience, concluded that the ranch could produce enough wind power to meet its energy needs and those of nearby Waimea town and North Kohala communities, with enough left over to supply 75 percent of the electricity demand on the western side of Hawaii island.

The plan also explores the use of a pumped storage hydroelectric facility that could help compensate for the intermittent nature of wind power. During times of low electricity demand, such as late night into the early morning, wind energy can be used to pump water to an uphill reservoir. When power is needed during high-demand periods, the water is released through turbines to a downhill reservoir.

Parker Ranch CEO Neil "Dutch" Kuyper was scheduled to present the findings of the preliminary report Thursday night at a meeting of the Waimea Community Association. The report is the first step in what is expected to be a fairly lengthy process to transform the energy landscape for Parker Ranch and the surrounding area.

The highest priority was assigned to lowering electricity costs for Parker Ranch, its beneficiaries, and the surrounding communities of Waimea and North Kohala, according to the report.

"Critical next steps" include further measurements of wind and potential geothermal resources, finding an operating partner to operate and maintain the energy infrastructure, attracting the necessary capital to pay for the project, and evaluating the supplying surplus power to Hawaii island electrical customers outside the Waimea and North Kohala area, according to the report.

The team of consultants, led by a U.S. affiliate of Germany’s Siemens AG, presented Parker Ranch with various options incorporating four predominantly renewable generation portfolios. The report also looked at scenarios in which the energy project would remain connected to the HELCO grid, and others that involved the construction of a new electric distribution system, or microgrid, that could operate independent of HELCO.

The report envisioned a two-phase project with the initial stage providing power to Parker Ranch and the greater Waimea and North Kohala communities by 2019. The second phase, which would expand production to serve the western half of Hawaii island, would be targeted for completion by 2024.