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A volcano on Hawaii island that partially destroyed a power plant more than two years ago is back to producing electricity at the facility.
The owner of the Puna Geothermal Venture plant announced today that it resumed electricity generation on the island Friday, starting with a small volume that is projected to grow to full capacity by the middle of next year.
Ormat Technologies Inc. said the Puna plant is delivering 1 to 2 megawatts of energy to the electric grid, and that production should rise to 15 megawatts by the end of this year after an additional geothermal production well is connected.
The plant, which is powered by geothermal gas from Kilauea Volcano, had been producing 38 megawatts before an eruption of lava from Kilauea that began in May 2018 buried several Puna Geothermal wells and destroyed transmission lines and other equipment.
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