Myths vs. Facts

FAQ : About the “Big Wind” Project

WHAT IS “BIG WIND”?

• “Big Wind” is a 2008 Lingle administration proposal to place 400 megawatts (MW) of wind turbines on Lāna‘i and/or Moloka`i and send power to O’ahu. Castle and Cooke’s (C&C) plan was to build it all on Lāna‘i; then mainland wind developer First Wind Hawai`i (FW) agreed to provide 200 MW on Moloka`i. But FW failed to secure land, and it is now uncertain whether Lāna‘i would bear the burden of producing all 400 MW, or if a new player — Pattern Energy – would replace FW on Moloka’i, or if FW would build their 200 MW on Maui (Honolulu is a 1400-1600 MW grid; Lana’i is a 4-5 MW grid; Moloka’i is a 7 MW grid).

HOW MUCH LAND WILL IT TAKE ON LANAʼI?

• According to C&Cs 2008 Draft Environmental Impact Statement — at least 12,800 acres, plus “9,300 acres secondary wind resource” for a total of 22,000 acres — a quarter of Lana’i.

HOW MANY TURBINES WILL BE PLACED ON LANAʼI?

• According to the 2008 Draft EIS up to 170 turbines, each as tall as Honolulu’s First Hawaiian Bank Building, with a wing span equal to that of a Boeing 747.

HOW WILL IT REDUCE HAWAI`IʼS DEPENDENCE ON IMPORTED OIL?

• Electricity accounts for only 30% of the State’s use of oil, and because of wind’s intermittency and the loss of power it would travel to reach O`ahu, these 400 MW turbines would produce only 160 MW or at best 4-6% of O’ahu’s electricity. Oil would still be needed as a backup when the wind doesn’t blow. It is time to move away from centralized power generation and think about a distributive one, where power is generated close to those who use/need it, and that might accomplish more goals: reduce dependence on oil, establish selfsufficiency on EACH island, reduce electricity costs, provide employment and business opportunities in renewable energy fields.

HOW MANY CONSTRUCTION JOBS WOULD BE CREATED?

• The draft EIS estimated 150 temporary construction jobs for 6-12 months, 1/3 of which may be for local residents, or 50 temporary jobs for local residents for one year.

HOW MANY PERMANENT JOBS WOULD BE CREATED?

• According to C&C “perhaps 15 to 20” permanent jobs (Honolulu Advertiser, August, 2008), and 7-10 of them would likely go to specially-trained workers from the Mainland.

WHEN WILL ANY JOBS BECOME AVAILABLE?

• The U.S. Department of Energy estimated construction and operation could begin sometime between 2016-2020.

WERE OTHER FORMS OF RENEWABLE SOURCES EXPLORED BEFORE MAKING THE BIG WIND CHOICE?

• The answer is unknown. The Booz Allen report that was supposed to answer this has not been released to the public. DBEDT’s 2010 Preliminary Programmatic EIS said the only alternative to Big Wind was …..nothing. No other option was to be considered.

HOW MUCH WILL BIG WIND COST?

• The complete and accurate answer is also unknown. Studies conducted by HECO have either been withheld or were released in such a redacted form as to be indecipherable. But a preliminary estimate for the three segments at 2008 dollars is $3 billion: the under sea cable ($1billion), plus wind power plants on Lāna‘i ($1 billion) and Moloka’i ($1 billion).

WHAT WOULD BE THE COST BURDEN TO US AS CONSUMERS?

• All HECO ratepayers (including Lāna‘i and Moloka`i even though they get none of the power) will pay for the cable by an estimated $3.58 – $5.13/month increase in their electric bills · BUT, the wind power plant developers could each recover 65% of the total project’s cost in tax credits, incentives and loans, so the total cost to tax and ratepayers for the $3 billion dollar project would be approximately $2.3 billion dollars.

WHAT ARE THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF THE CABLE AND THE WIND FACILITIES?

• No one knows. The first draft of an EIS is not due for public comment/review until summer of 2012.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE TURBINES ARE OBSOLETE?

• The life expectancy of most industrial wind turbines is 20 years. There is no guarantee that the turbines will be removed from the island(s) and the land restored. Rusting and dismembered remnants of Big Island wind power plants from the 1980’s are still in the ground.

WE DO NOT BELIEVE THAT ONE OF THE LAST UNTOUCHED PLACES IN HAWAI`I, FILLED WITH HISTORY AND ANCIENT CULTURAL SITES, SHOULD BECOME AN INDUSTRIAL POWER PLANT FOR O`AHU.