Chaz Pinnow
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 power-generator on Hawai‘i Island. “We have five filtration systems to catch ash and emissions,” Chaz said. “The EPA will be notified immediately if allowable levels are exceeded. The plant control room will receive an automatic alarm if emissions are out of compliance and have six minutes to correct them.”
As for the ash, Chaz likes that it will have a second life. Because of its high concentration of beneficial elements, eucalyptus ash improves soil health and increases the yield of many crops. The plan is to make it available to local businesses and farms as a soil supplement.