Jan 24 2011
Hawaiian Electric has awarded a biofuels contract to Aina Koa Pono in order to assist Hawaii to produce 70% of its electricity from green energy by 2030. Aina Koa Pono plans to develop a 13,000-acre Energy farm in the Ka u District of Hawaii.
The farm is slated for operation by early 2013. The development of the farm will create 300 construction jobs during the first two years and over 100 permanent farming and operation jobs, once the farm commences operation.
Aina Koa Pono has signed a long-term lease with the Mallick family and the Olson Trust for the land to house the project. The firm will invest about $320 million in the project to establish a state of the art processing plant. The fund will be used for planting and harvesting bio-feedstock such as eucalyptus and sweet sorghum. The bioprocess facility will have a capacity of producing 16 million gallons of biofuel. The facility will utilize the latest biomass conversion technology to produce biofuel, gasoline and electricity. The energy farm construction is slated to commence in the first quarter of 2012 and initial supply of biofuel will come about by the second quarter of 2013. The plant will be ready for commercial operation by the third quarter of 2013.
The Ka u Energy Farm’s another task is to balance land use for food agriculture and biofuel in order to improve the environment of Hawaii. Aina Koa Pono plans to use the non-food by-products like green waste from local food producers into utilizable liquid fuels. The firm will also recycle bio-feedstock crops using conventional method to enrich soils and maximize land use. Bionics Fuel Technologies, MELE Associates, TekGar and Eichleay Engineers of California are providing design and construction services for the Ka u Energy Farm.
Source: http://www.ainakoapono.com