Few, if any, demonstrators against the project to install eight 568-foot tall wind turbines in Kahuku on the North Shore made an appearance at Kalaeloa in Kapolei Tuesday night, with opponent leaders saying a much-needed break was taken from gathering every night.

“We have many hardworking families whom also have been very committed in taking their stance every night that needed a night of rest to tend to their ohana,” said Kamalani Keliikuli, a media liaison for Ku Kia‘i Kahuku.

Comments and videos on Ku Kia‘i Kahuku’s Facebook page indicated that there were no kia‘i (protectors) at Kalaeloa and a few in Kahuku, but there was no action to block turbine parts from leaving Kalaeloa or entering Kahuku.

The project, named Na Pua Makani, by Virginia-­based developer AES Corp. would be the second wind power plant in Kahuku and the third on the North Shore. There are already 12 turbines in Kahuku.

Prior to Tuesday night, protesters have been present in Kalaeloa every night that AES Corp. has moved turbine parts to Kahuku, which it started doing on Oct. 17.

AES Corp. has moved turbine parts from Sunday through Thursday nights from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m., but also will be taking a break tonight into Friday morning in observance of Halloween.

No arrests have been made since Sunday night, when 16 protesters in Kalaeloa were arrested, bringing the total arrests linked to the wind turbine project to 127.

Honolulu Police Department spokeswoman Michelle Yu confirmed that no arrests were made Tuesday night. She did not respond to inquiries about how many officers would be present each night going forward or if that number would change depending on the number of protesters present.

“(HPD Chief Susan Ballard) said earlier that there were about 230 officers working each night,” Yu said in an email statement. “Officers were at Kalaeloa and Kahuku last night.”

The large police presence has been used to clear a path for wind turbine trucks to pass through and to arrest protesters who blocked them from doing so.

Many of those who regularly participate in protests at Kalaeloa are from Kahuku, a roughly 80-mile round trip, possibly explaining why a break was needed.

A statement by the Ku Kia‘i Kahuku board released Wednesday said, “(We) made the decision to temporarily halt the sit-ins and arrests. We felt the team and our supporters needed down time to practice self-care with ohana. … (We) did not have an official (live stream) from the Ku Kia‘i Kahuku board.”

The statement also said the group has met its goal of reaching a worldwide audience.

It’s not clear how many nights the down time will last.

Although Tuesday was a rest day, Keliikuli said that work is still being done, in particular regarding outreach to the public.

“Ku Kia‘i is currently working on collecting more data and bringing education to the public and still standing in unity (with) various communities at Kalaeloa and Kahuku,” Keliikuli said.

Some of the concerns the opponents of the Na Pua Makani have with the project is that the wind turbines could cause health problems to people and wildlife. Those problems include shadow flicker, when spinning turbine blades in front of the sun produce a fast-moving shadow, creating a strobe-like effect, and infrasound, a constant inaudible sound produced by the turbines. They contend that the turbines contribute to cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, tinnitus, headaches and other problems.

AES Corp. says turbine emissions will not exceed 45 decibels, the recommended limit accepted by the World Health Organization.

WHO released environmental noise guidelines in 2018, and has shown that the quality of evidence regarding wind turbine noise on health and comfort is low or absent altogether, although noted that there would be an expected “general health benefit from a marked reduction in any kind of long-term environmental noise exposure.”

Project opponents have pointed out that AES Corp. has stated that wind turbines have not been shown to have an adverse impact on human health.

AES Corp. did not provide any updates regarding the progress of transporting wind turbine parts.