Kaheawa Wind Power - is a 30 MegaWatt wind farm located in the West Maui Mountains high above Maui's scenic shores, and very visible from the resort areas of Maalaea, Kihei and Wailea. They are owned and operated by UPC Hawaii Wind Partners, a Massachusetts-based wind farm company.
The U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have agreed to join forces with UPC Hawaii Wind Partners to study the integration of wind technology into the Hawai'i utility system. This is the first such partner site for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's wind technology program outside of its base in Colorado. We are lucky to have this opportunity on Maui.
Taken from a beach in North Kihei, this picture shows the 20 wind turbines on the ridge above the strip of Maalaea Bay condos at the shore.
We have strong tradewinds on Maui, and they get funneled through the central valley, picking up speed. The location of the wind farm takes advantage of these accelerated winds. About 10% of our energy needs is currently being met with the power produced here at Kaheawa Wind Farm. This translates to saving the island of Maui 600 barrels of oil per day.... and that's what the alternative is... diesel generating plants!
Since Maui is such a great place to embrace with power, many homeowners are taking advantage of this sustainable and free resource. What about you? Will windpower work for you?
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Georgina M. Hunter R(S) - your Maui real estate agent (808) 283-0635 mailto:info@mauihunter.com ~ SEARCH MAUI LISTINGS
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Hey Georgina,
We are currently looking at financing a couple wind farms which are designed to take advantage of the tradewinds, but in a different area of the world.
Great post.
Sean Allen
Sean Allen and Pilar - I hope that works out.... please blog about it here.
Frank - in this case, they ensured that no wildlife would be compromised. But when you consider the alternative... did anyone ever do environmental impact studies before installing diesel burning generators? What's the environmental cost of a coal burning plant? As they said, 600 barrels of oil a day are now NOT burned here on Maui.... that's a really good thing, even if a few birds do happen to get knocked in the head.
Georgina~
Interesting to think about the whole subject of renewable energy...and then to see examples of how it is happening in locales around the world...I am wondering about SOLAR energy in HA...any news on that?
JaneAnne - lots of people use solar hot water - that's a no brainer. Many people are also now doing grid tie ins with solar panels to ease their electric bill burden. Some companies go for it full on - like the Harley Davidson shop that I posted about a while ago. So far no large scale government backed PV projects are in the works (on Maui) that I'm aware of... probably because of space constraints... vacant land is too precious.
Tiffany - I hear you! Windmills look much better than oil rigs or smoke stacks. We should get used to it.
Georgina,
Looks like the wind-generated energy is taking off on the islands and the daily savings are noteworthy. Nevada is moving ahead with wind technology, too, because our deserts and ridgelines are ideal for harnessing that energy.