Wind farm not fait accompli yet

There’s something unsettling about the timing of the state Public Utilities Commission’s approval of a third wind farm on Oahu’s North Shore.

The commission’s decision to render its OK on the last day of last year helped the wind farm’s developers qualify for a federal tax credit, which required the project to have commenced prior to Jan. 1, 2015 and be in service by Jan. 1, 2016.

The PUC said it approved the project because it will help lower energy costs for Oahu residents and reduce Hawaiian Electric Co.’s dependence on fossil fuels. Both those things might be true, but there are other considerations.

Still pending are county and federal approvals, including completion of an environ- mental impact statement. Also, area residents will want to weigh in on more wind turbines sprouting in their back yard.

Finances fall to shifting sands

Now what?

Severe beach erosion has created unsightly and potentially dangerous conditions in Waikiki, less than three years after a $2.2 million sand replenishment project that some folks warned would backfire.

At least one resident says erosion that resulted in concrete being exposed at Kuhio Beach got progressively worse after a jetty was removed, as locals had predicted.

Now the state and city are working to come up with a new solution.

Whatever plan takes shape should tap into local wisdom — before more millions are spent.