Puna Geothermal Venture seeks to boost power output by 5 megawatts

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Mike Kaleikini

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RUTH FREMSON / NEW YORK TIMES / 2022

The Puna Geothermal Venture in Pahoa, on the Big Island, provided 31% of the island’s electrical needs before a volcanic eruption in 2018 disrupted it. An aerial view of the plant.

Puna Geothermal Venture officials shared progress about their repower project and discussed a pending state permit request during the company’s final quarterly community meeting of the year this week at the Pahoa Neighborhood Facility.

PGV, which taps heat from the Kilauea volcanic rift zone to generate electricity for the Big Island, is working to rebuild and modernize its facility after equipment was damaged during the 2018 eruption.

The company says the repower project will replace older units with three larger, more efficient generators to shrink its footprint, improve reliability and continue supplying a major share of the island’s renewable energy.

The Tuesday meeting, hosted by Ormat Technologies Inc. and PGV, gave residents a chance to ask questions and hear updates about plant operations and plans. Company representatives reviewed ongoing modernization work and described how the project is shaping PGV’s long-term operations.

Some attendees raised questions about potential health impacts on nearby residents, asking how PGV would monitor hazards such as emissions, whether the plant’s monitoring tools had been upgraded and thoroughly checked, and expressing concerns about loud noises, environmental toxins and possible illnesses.

PGV staff responded by emphasizing their commitment to safety, noting that if there were genuine risks to health, they would be working in those conditions themselves.

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The company said its systems and procedures are designed to detect and address potential issues promptly, underscoring its focus on protecting both employees and the surrounding community.

After the meeting, Mike Kaleikini, senior director of Hawaii Affairs, told the Hawaii Tribune-Herald he expects the state Department of Health to approve PGV’s current air permit request as well as others the company anticipates submitting.

He said large-scale upgrades are typically pursued only every couple of dec­ades and are influenced mainly by PGV’s contract with Hawaiian Electric and the availability of the geothermal resource.

Kaleikini said the plant continues to support the local workforce while providing stable, lower-cost renewable power for the island.

“Economically, it provides 30 really good, living-wage jobs for our local folks around here,” he said. “The majority of our employees are (from) Puna and Hilo.”

He also emphasized the environmental and cost advantages of geothermal power.

“Climate wise, it sure beats burning oil,” he said. “From a business perspective our contract will probably be the lowest cost per kilowatt-hour on the island, even better than the solar and wind folks.”

Plant officials said electricity from PGV costs about 7 cents per kilowatt-hour and could fall to about 4 cents after the new equipment is operational.

A public hearing is scheduled for Dec. 8 at 6 p.m. at the Pahoa Neighborhood Facility, as the Department of Health considers PGV’s request to increase its permitted generating capacity from 41 megawatts to 46 megawatts. Residents may offer testimony at the hearing or submit written comments to the DOH Clean Air Branch through Dec. 12.

The request is tied to PGV’s repower project, approved by the Hawaii County Planning Department in January 2024. Under the plan, 12 existing Ormat Energy Converters would be replaced with three more efficient units, which DOH says would reduce volatile organic compound emissions by about 6.36 tons per year.

The new units would be installed at a different location on the PGV site, while most existing buildings and infrastructure, including administration areas, well pads and the gathering system, would remain.

The updated converters use a closed-loop binary system powered by cyclopentane to generate electricity from geothermal steam and brine. The design includes new heat exchangers, air-cooled condensers and vapor-recovery equipment intended to reduce fugitive emissions. Gas detection sensors and a leak-detection and repair program are part of the system.

PGV also is asking the state to increase its authorized number of geothermal wells from 14 to 28, consistent with approvals granted by the Department of Land and Natural Resources in 2006. The Department of Health noted that the number of wells does not significantly affect air emissions during drilling or normal operations.

The modification request also includes a new vapor recovery and maintenance unit, updated emissions limits for the new equipment, repurposing an existing Sulfa-Treat system for intermittent use during maintenance, and the addition of a 39,500-gallon tank for motive-fluid storage.

According to a staff recommendation from the DOH, the facility is expected to remain in compliance with state and federal air- quality standards under the proposed permit amendment.

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