Florida firm buys
half of Big Isle project

Star-Bulletin staff

HONOKAA, Hawaii -- A Florida power company has bought a 50 percent interest in the Big Island power project previously known as Encogen, and the facility's name has been changed to Hamakua Energy Project.

TECO Power Services, a subsidiary of TECO Energy Inc. of Tampa, Fla., bought the stake formerly held by Texas Utilities Co., which in turn bought the interest formerly held by Enserch Development Co.

Enserch began the project in the early 1990s and was acquired by Texas Utilities in 1997.

J.A. Jones Ventures still owns the other half of the partnership and is developing the 60 megawatt power plant at a former sugar mill site near Honokaa. When complete, Hamakua Energy Project will sell power to the Hawaii Electric Light Co. Helco president Warren Lee said the contractual relationship is unchanged, with Hamakua Energy scheduled to make available 22 megawatts in July and the remaining 38 megawatts next November.

TECO Power Services and its affiliate Tampa Electric Co. operate 4,000 megawatts, including projects in Virginia, Central America, and the Czech Republic.