July 9, 2021
By Brian McInnis
The debate over the Hu Honua biomass plant will extend into next year based on the timetable the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission has set for a new evidentiary hearing for the embattled Hawaii Island project — and developer Honua Ola Bioenergy fully intends to make its case all over again.
The Hawaii Supreme Court gave the nearly nixed $500 million, 21.5-megawatt wood-burning facility on the Hamakua Coast new life in May with its unanimous decision to vacate the PUC’s decision to close its docket on Hu Honua in September 2020, and sent the matter back to the PUC.
The new hearing, in which greenhouse gas emissions will be discussed, is tentatively set for the week of January 10, according to the PUC docket that was reopened June 30. The docket originated in May 2017.
“Honua Ola is prepared to demonstrate how the project will become carbon negative through our commitment to capture more carbon, which includes planting and growing trees,” said Warren Lee, president of Honua Ola, in a statement to Pacific Business News on Friday. “As an added benefit, we will also accept invasive tree species, including albizia, as feedstock, which will help to remove undesirable species from the environment and turn them into clean renewable energy for the Big Island.”