The only way to reduce our reliance on imported foreign oil is to replace it.
Hawai‘i is the most oil-dependent state in the country. Most of the state’s electricity is generated by oil, and 99% of that comes from foreign sources. This dependence makes our cost of living subject to volatile oil prices, like we are experiencing today, with oil prices up 80% from a year...Read More
Hawai‘i Island has always been home to Nui Iopa. He went to Hilo High School and Hawai‘i Community College, where he studied engineering and insulation technology.
Nui is an auxiliary plant operator at Honua Ola. “I’m the eyes, ears, and hands for the control room operator,” he said. Whatever the plant management system says needs to be done Nui handles it manually, adjusting valves, checking...Read More
Chaz Pinnow grew up in a plantation house built by his grandpa in Papaikou on Hawai‘i Island.
Today, Chaz is the senior ash handler at Honua Ola. He oversees the refueling of the plant with eucalyptus chips, which are combusted to produce power. Off-loading the trucks that carry the eucalyptus logs is tricky, but Chaz has it down to an art.
Chaz is proud Honua Ola is the cleanest 24/7...Read More
Iven Hamilton moved to Hawai‘i Island from Maui two years ago so his daughter could attend school here. Previously, he worked in the machine shop at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, honing his skills as a millwright and mechanic. At Honua Ola, Iven’s job is simple. He has to fix whatever’s broken.
“Anything that needs to be fixed, we either fix or fabricate,” he said. Honua Ola keeps lots of...Read More
Ashley McGuire grew up in the Puna district of Hawai‘i Island. “It was a good life, but it was a tough neighborhood,” he said.
Ashley is an electrician-instrumentation technician at Honua Ola. When he’s not enjoying time with his family, he’s making sure that “everything that has wires” is running smoothly at Honua Ola.
That’s a lot of responsibility. His job is to keep the plant operating...Read More
