Whatever
Happened To...
An update on past news
Semi-operational Big Isle
wind farm to be rebuiltQuestion: Whatever happened to the wind energy farm near South Point on the Big Island?
Answer: Apollo Energy Corp.'s 37 wind machines of 250 kilowatts each still stand on 100 acres of Kamehameha Schools land and other private land. Some machines are producing power, some are idle.
Overall, the installation is producing "substantially less" power than its 9.25-megawatt nominal capacity, said Apollo chairman Anthony Pace in Foster City, Calif.
Apollo plans to tear down the facility and build a new one with 14 machines of 1.5 megawatts each, Pace said.
That's a total of 21 megawatts, slightly larger than the next biggest one planned for the state, a 20-megawatt project pending at Ukumehame, West Maui. In comparison, the Big Island's geothermal power plant has a capacity of 30 megawatts.
Unlike predictable geothermal power, wind electricity depends on changing wind strengths.
Hawaii Electric Light Co. is negotiating with Apollo to purchase up to 20 megawatts, said Helco president Warren Lee.
Although some details have been ironed out, others have been placed before the Public Utilities Commission for a decision, Lee said.
Pace said he hopes that contract questions will be out of the way by this fall so construction can start with a completion time of six to nine months later.
He declined to disclose a construction cost.
The project started in 1986 under the name Kamaoa Wind Energy Partners and has been through various ownership changes since then, with Pace being the one constant presence in the picture.
The Big Island facility is Apollo's only business, Pace said.
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