Company hopes to restart power plant on Big Island
Associated Press
HILO » An Oahu company is planning to restart a power plant at an old sugar processing plant on the Big Island.
Pacific Rim Energy Partners is negotiating with Hawaiian Electric Light Co. to purchase electricity from the former Hilo Coast Power Co. in Pepeekeo, said Warren Lee, HELCO's president.
In May, Pacific Rim bought the coal-burning power plant and the buildings on the property that were once part of the Hilo Coast Processing Co. sugar operation, said manager David Berryhill.
The company has secured or is in the process of securing all the necessary permits for air and water discharges, Berryhill said.
The only thing that stands in the way of restarting the power plant is a purchase agreement for power, he said.
Pacific Rim plans to burn coal at the Pepeekeo plant, but is also considering supplementing the fuel with wood scrap, Berryhill said.
The company is in discussions with several wood scrap sources, including two companies that plan to harvest eucalyptus trees on former Hamakua Sugar property.