Hawaii's geothermal program

Journal Article · Sat Feb 01 00:00:00 EST 1992 · IEEE Spectrum (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers); (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1109/6.109604· OSTI ID:5462697

Zorpette, G

This paper reports that in a forest on the island of Hawaii, legal and regulatory activity has postponed the start-up of a small new power plant and imperilled the design and construction of several facilities like it. The same old story Hardly. The power plants at stake are not nuclear or coal- or even oil-fired, but geothermal, widely considered one of the more environmentally benign ways of generating electricity. In a further twist, the opposition is coming not only from the usual citizens; and environmental groups, but also from worshippers of a native good and, it has been alleged, growers of marijuana, a lucrative local crop. The clash occurs just as geothermal power sources have finally proven commercially viable, experts say, adding that technological advances and industry trends in the United States and elsewhere seem to factor great expansion in its use.

• OSTI ID: 5462697
• Journal Information: IEEE Spectrum (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers); (United States), Vol. 29:2; ISSN 0018-9235
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY
29 ENERGY PLANNING
POLICY AND ECONOMY
GEOTHERMAL POWER PLANTS
RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
GEOTHERMAL RESOURCES
SURVEYS
HAWAII
PLANNING
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
FEDERAL REGION IX
NORTH AMERICA
POWER PLANTS
RESOURCES
THERMAL POWER PLANTS
USA
150800* - Geothermal Power Plants
150100 - Geothermal Energy- Resources & Availability
299000 - Energy Planning & Policy- Unconventional Sources & Power Generation