Biofuel plant builder seeks harvest agreement for eucalyptus trees on the Hamakua Coast

A company building a renewable energy power plant on Hawaii island is pursuing a license to harvest 3,000 acres of eucalyptus trees on the Hamakua Coast through negotiations with landowner Kamehameha Schools.

Kamehameha Schools recently announced that it selected an affiliate of Hu Honua Bionergy LLC to negotiate terms for the license.

The trust has been seeking a licensee since a previous one, LHF Lopiwa LLC, which had been shipping eucalyptus logs to China, declined to extend a lease agreement at the end of 2016. A preliminary selection of another company last year did not lead to a deal, which prompted Kamehameha Schools to seek new bidders in October.

Hu Honua’s affiliate is CN Renewable Resources LLC and is being offered a short-term license for harvesting that gives the trust more flexibility with long-term use of the land.

“The 3,000 acres encompass areas we want to immediately transition to other uses such as community education programs and other diversified agricultural activities,” Marissa Harman, director of asset management for Kamehameha Schools on Hawaii island, said in a statement.

Kamehameha Schools bought about 30,000 acres of former Hawaii island sugar plantation land from Hamakua Sugar Co. in 1994, and converted pieces to other uses including small-scale commercial development, housing, diversified agriculture, pasture and timber forest.