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 "Kamaoa Wind Farms" - South Point, Hawai`i Posted by:  Jake39
N 18° 59.520 W 155° 39.947
5Q E 219332 N 2102068
This dilapidated windmill farm is located on the south point access road, off highway 11 on the most southerly tip of the "Big Island of Hawai`i" There were 37 wind-turbines on 100 acres during their peak times.
Waymark Code: WMJKM
Location: Hawaii, United States
Date Posted: 07/29/2006
Views: 59
The Kamaoa Wind Farm consisted of 37 - 250 kW wind turbines with an operationally typical total peak output of 7.5 MW. As of 2006 the turbines were falling into disrepair, and they were finally shut down on August 15, 2006.
At the end of August 2006, components for a new set of wind turbines were transported to South Point - the Pakini Nui project consists 14 wind turbines to be constructed about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) from the old Kamaoa wind farm. When complete, Pakini Nui will supply up to 20.5 MW of power to the island electricity grid. At late 2006 levels, this would be about 6.5% of the total 300 MW Big Island electricity supply.
2010 Update/Info:
Apollo Energy Corporation purchased and re-powered the retired Kamaoa Wind Farm which began commercial operation in 1987. Apollo kept the 37 windmills going by using parts from the ones that had broken down through 2006. Now owned and operated by Tawhiri Power LLC, a subsidary of Apollo, Tawhiri leased another property from Hawaiian Homelands near the Kamaoa Wind Farm and renamed this new property Pakini Nui Wind Farm. Pakini consists of 14 General Electric turbines producing 21 megawatts. It went online in April 2007. The purchase power agreement with Hawaii Electric Light Company was approved by the Public Utilities Commission on March 10, 2005. Pakini Nui went into service in April after the wind turbines were installed in January, said Tony Pace, head of Apollo Power Corp., the parent company of farm owner and operator Tawhiri Power LLC. GE Energy, which was to initially provide the machinery and construction financing, eventually became an investor. Tommy Woods, Pakini Nui Wind Farm Manager, displays a nearly 100-foot-long spare wind turbine blade for the 14 windmills behind him. Tommy Woods, Pakini Nui Wind Farm Manager
Investors say South Point's consistently blowing wind keeps the turbines twirling at one of the highest rates of any wind farm in the world. "(Hawaii island) has a world-class treasure," said Kevin Walsh, managing director of GE Energy Financial Services. But the wind power is not lowering electricity bills, even though it is locally generated, unlike the imported oil the state is so heavily reliant on. HELCO pays for the wind farm electricity by calculating the "avoided cost," or the cost the utility would have to pay if it were to build or generate power on its own. Lee said rates vary because they are tied to oil prices. Boosting renewable energy sources on the Big Island would neither positively nor negatively impact consumer rates, he added. The Pakini Nui project does, however, help the state toward its goal of obtaining 20 percent of locally consumed energy from renewable sources by 2020. Pakini Nui's turbines replaced the nearby 9.3-megawatt Kamaoa Wind Farm, which began operations in 1987 and had 37 Mitsubishi turbines on 100 acres of land. Pace said the company is currently deciding whether to dispose of, remove or rehabilitate the Mitsubishi turbines.
Apollo Kamoa Wind Farm - Not in Use! Kamaoa Wind Farm consisted of 37 Mitsubishi 250-kilowatt wind turbines capable of generating up to 9.3 megawatts which are all disabled as of the end of 2008. These were old machines and it was not cost effective to keep these going.
However, these could be retrofitted with new state of the art wind mills if the funds were spent on this project and all the permits are in place to continue using them if Apollo would go ahead with this. The towers are in stable condition.
Sources; The Honolulu Advertiser
A "Visited" only remark without a photo, will be deleted.
Date of Manufacture: 02/13/2006
Purpose: Electricity
Open to the public: no
Is This Windmill Functional?: No
Windmill Farm: yes
Museum on Site: no
Cost: Not Listed
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