Geothermal Technologies Program Tapping the Earth’s energy to meet our heat and power needs

Kauai A Strong Energy Portfolio for a Strong America imports oil for about 90 percent Energy effi ciency and clean, renewable of the state’s energy needs. No energy will mean a stronger economy, other state in the United States a cleaner environment, and greater is so critically dependent on Pacifi c Ocean imported oil. energy independence for America. presently supplies nearly one Working with a wide array of state, Hawaii quarter of the power needs community, industry, and university of the Big Island. The state’s partners, the U.S. Department of policy supports geothermal energy production on the Big Energy’s Offi ce of Energy Effi ciency and Island exclusively for use on Renewable Energy invests in a diverse Why Geothermal? that island. portfolio of energy technologies. Current Development The Hawaiian Islands lie above a employed about 10,000 people to install geological “hot spot” in the earth’s and operate geothermal power plants in mantle that has been volcanically active the United States and abroad, including for the past 70 million years, with the power plant construction and related Island of Hawaii (the “Big Island”) activities such as exploration and having the most recent activity. The Big drilling; indirect employment Island has an obvious, large potential was about 20,000. for geothermal energy resources, both for electrical generation and direct On average from 1997-2001, the utilization. Since the 1976 drilling of Puna Geothermal Venture (PGV) the HGP-A well and the discovery of the 30-megawatt plant on the Big Island Kapoho Geothermal Reservoir in the displaced the need to burn about lower Kilauea East Rift Zone (KERZ), the 475,000 barrels of fuel oil per year. geothermal heat reserves of the entire During the fi ve-year period, Hawaii KERZ have been estimated to exceed Electric Light Company paid an 200 megawatts. average cost of about $27.37 a barrel for oil. That translates to an average While the theoretical geothermal energy of about $13 million annually in fuel potential in the state is substantial, cost savings! The PGV geothermal plant A volcanic vent on the Big development of such projects has been also eliminates the need to ship that Island, Hawaii. controversial. Currently, the state’s amount of fuel oil from the refi neries policy supports geothermal energy on the island of Oahu, thus signifi cantly production on the Big Island exclusively reducing the risk of oil spills, and the for use on that island. Puna Geothermal potential economic and environmental Venture provides nearly a quarter of impacts a spill can represent for the state. the power consumed on the Island of Hawaii. Technical Capabilities Universities, state agencies, private Economic Benefi ts industry, and a DOE regional offi ce The U.S. geothermal energy industry bring technical capabilities to the task as a whole provided about 12,300 of managing Hawaii’s geothermal direct domestic jobs, and an additional resources. The University of Hawaii’s 27,700 indirect domestic jobs. The School of Ocean and Earth Science and electric generation part of the industry Technology, has been a technical and Hawaii information resource for many years. Bringing you a prosperous future where energy is clean, abundant, reliable, and affordable GeoPowering the West Contacts

Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism Strategic Industries Division 808.587.3807 www.hawaii.gov/dbedt/ert/energy.html Priscilla Thompson, Energy Analyst [email protected]

University of Hawaii School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technnology Klaus Keil, Interim Dean 808.956.6182

Puna Geothermal Venture Barry Mizuno, Owner’s Representative www.punageothermalventure.com This power plant provides nearly 25% of the electricity used on the Big Island of Hawaii. 808.965.6233 It is a hybrid binary and fl ash plant (courtesy of the Geothermal Education Offi ce). U.S. Department of Energy Seattle Regional Offi ce History www.eren.doe.gov/sro/ The fi rst geothermal well in Hawaii Curtis Framel, Senior Program Manager to produce steam was drilled in 206.553.7841, [email protected] 1976 in the Puna district of the Big Island. This well, named the Hawaii U.S. Department of Energy Geothermal Project - Abbott (HGP-A) GeoPowering the West was 6,140 feet deep and one of the GeoPowering the West is a www.eren.doe.gov/geopoweringthewest hottest in the world. In July of 1981, cooperative Federal, state, and Susan Norwood, National Coordinator a 2.5-megawatt electric plant used local effort to promote awareness energy from this well to produce 202.586.4779, [email protected] electrical power that was fed into the of the vast geothermal energy Hawaii Electric Light Company’s grid. resources in the Western United Sandia National Laboratories The U.S. Department of Energy, and States, including Alaska and Hawaii. www.sandia.gov/geothermal the state and county governments GeoPowering the West partners Roger Hill, GPW Technical Director funded the plant. It was originally with businesses, government 505.844.6111, [email protected] designed as a two-year demonstration offi cials, Native American groups, project, but continued operation until Geo-Heat Center the end of 1989. utilities, and energy consumers to expand the use of geothermal (Direct-Use Technical Information) Puna Geothermal Venture, a energy. For further information on geoheat.oit.edu partnership comprised of OESI Power these efforts, please contact the John Lund, Director Corporation (an American subsidiary people listed to the right. 541.885.1750, [email protected] of Ormat Turbines Ltd., Yavne, Israel) and Constellation Power Incorporated Produced for the (a subsidiary of the Baltimore Gas For more information contact: U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and Electric Company), developed EERE Information Center Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy a 25-megawatt geothermal plant in 1-877-EERE-INF (1-877-337-3463) the Kapoho area of the KERZ on the [email protected] Big Island. This plant represents the or visit: www.eere.energy.gov fi rst commercial geothermal plant in Hawaii and production of electricity commenced on April 22, 1993. 1000 Independence Avenue, SW In 1996, this plant was re-rated to Washington, DC 20585 30 MW. By the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, a DOE National Laboratory DOE/GO-102004-1907 April 2004 Printed with a renewable source ink on paper containing at least 50% wastepaper, including Hawaii 20% postconsumer waste. For more information, visit www.eere.energy/geothermal/state/ .gov or call 1-800-DOE-3762