Posted in | News | Renewable Energy | Wind Power

NextEra Energy Agrees to Develop Wind Energy Projects on PRFT's Hawaii Island Lands

Jan 19 2015

Parker Ranch announced earlier today that Parker Ranch Foundation Trust (PRFT) has entered into an agreement with an affiliate of NextEra Energy Resources, LLC. This agreement provides NextEra Energy Resources with long-term access rights to PRFT lands to develop renewable energy derived from PRFT's wind resources.

"We have been aggressively seeking ways to reduce the cost of electricity for our community and our island by using the potential renewable energy resources available on PRFT's Hawaii Island lands," said Neil ("Dutch") Kuyper, President and CEO of Parker Ranch. "During this time, we have also been seeking capital and technical expertise from potential development partners. We have been working collaboratively with NextEra Energy Resources for more than a year and believe that they are the ideal partner to utilize PRFT's wind resources."

In 2013, Parker Ranch, Inc. commenced a utility-grade integrated resource planning effort with assistance from Siemens, Booz Allen Hamilton and Pace Global to evaluate alternative energy strategies for Parker Ranch and the surrounding communities of Waimea and North Kohala as well as the Island of Hawaii.

"Our work with Siemens identified several valuable scenarios utilizing PRFT's wind resources, combined with storage, that could drive down electricity rates and cut our excessive vulnerability to volatile imported oil prices," said Kuyper. "Reducing Hawaii Island electricity rates, slashing our reliance on imported oil and decreasing carbon emissions are all important to us because the cost of energy is tied to everything we do."

Through its Paniolo Power Company subsidiary, Parker Ranch, Inc. is continuing to evaluate the merits of pumped-storage hydro and the economics of utility-scale battery solutions in the generation mix.

"Our community is inherently at the center of our mission and core values," said Kuyper. "We will continue to engage our neighbors and friends in the process of pursuing our renewable energy and sustainability goals."

The potential for renewable energy on PRFT's lands is unique on Hawaii Island and in the State due to the size and scale of the wind resource. PRFT's mission is focused on the sustainability of the Waimea community, the hometown of Parker Ranch, by providing perpetual support for PRFT's four Waimea-based beneficiaries.

PRFT and Parker Ranch, Inc. have recently completed comprehensive strategic planning efforts and each has decided to elevate the pursuit of renewable energy-related opportunities to be one of their highest strategic priorities.

NextEra Energy Resources is one of the largest developers of clean and low-cost renewable energy in North America and is the largest producer of zero-emissions energy from wind resources.

About Parker Ranch, Inc. and Parker Ranch Foundation Trust
Parker Ranch was established in 1847 and remains one of the largest and oldest cattle ranches in the United States. In 1992, following the death of sixth generation Parker descendant Richard Palmer Kaleioku Smart, it became owned by the charitable Parker Ranch Foundation Trust. PRFT's mission is focused on the sustainability of the Waimea community, the hometown of Parker Ranch, by providing perpetual support for PRFT's four Waimea-based beneficiaries: North Hawaii Community Hospital (an affiliate of The Queen's Health Systems), Hawaii Preparatory Academy, Parker School Trust Corporation and the Richard Smart Fund of the Hawaii Community Foundation. Parker Ranch, Inc., established in 1995 and wholly-owned by PRFT, continues cattle ranching and is proactively leveraging its and the trust's extensive land and natural resources to support the trust's beneficiaries, achieve a secure energy future, expand the sustainability of local food systems, and facilitate the general betterment of the Waimea area. To learn more, visit www.parkerranch.com and www.prft.org.

About Paniolo Power Company, LLC
Paniolo Power Company, LLC is a subsidiary of Parker Ranch, Inc., one of the largest and oldest cattle ranches in the United States. Paniolo Power was established in April 2014 to pursue community-based and reasonably priced clean energy for the Waimea and Kohala communities as well as for Hawaii Island. Paniolo Power is leveraging Parker Ranch resources to develop affordable, renewable energy to increase Hawaii Island's energy security. To learn more, visit www.paniolopower.com.

Source: http://parkerranch.com/

Comments

Jim Wiegand says:

January 24, 2015 at 3:18 PM

This project will slaughter endangered species and the public will never know the total because of the wind industry's history of routinely rigging studies to hide mortality.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              The most scientific study ever produced by the wind industry was conducted 3 decades ago.  From this study forward the wind industry has been clearly rigging their research and quoting false data.............."McCrary, M.D., R.L. McKernan, and R.W. Schreiber. 1986. San Gorgonio wind resource area: impacts of commercial wind turbine generators on birds, 1985 data report. Prepared for Southern California Edison Company. 33 pp".

Using proper methodology for that time the McCrary study reported that the approximately 197 MW of wind turbines installed at the San Gorgonio wind resource area were killing an estimated 6800 birds per year. This was a fatality rate of approximately 34.4 fatalities per MW at San Gorgonio pass wind turbines.

Keeping in mind those fatality rates and using them for all of the 61,000 MW of installed wind energy today in the US, produces a turbine mortality estimate of 2,098,400 birds a year. This is a number nearly 12 ten times more than the bogus 2.9 per MW quoted by the AWEA.

But this 34.4 per MW estimate for America's turbines is low because bird use patterns at the Desert region of the San Gorgonio pass wind turbines is lower than many other wind turbine locations.  Many other areas have far greater kills rate per MW.

One example is a turbine located on the Lewes Campus in Delaware. Even though this study was rigged to conceal mortality, researchers still reported a kill rate of 41 birds and bats per MW.

For this study the huge turbine blades hung out over the dinky search area and the studies missed most of the carcasses. The search area for carcasses should have been about 200 meters in all directions around this turbine. Instead the search area was about 20 times too small and the area searched was directed away from the primary direction of carcass throw.

Researchers even witnessed blade strike fatalities that were launched way out beyond search areas, but it did not matter and these fatalities were not figured into the data. My estimates are that this one turbine was killing over 1200 birds and bats per year and the wind industry across North America is hiding over 90% of turbine related mortality with bogus studies like this one.

Unfortunately and for obvious reasons, the McCrary study was stripped off the internet years ago. But if one looks, references to it can still be found.

Hawaii does not and never will need these inefficient and highly destructive turbines.

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