Auwahi planning to take view planes into account

The Maui News
Saturday, July 01, 2006

By HARRY EAGAR, Staff Writer

ULUPALAKUA – "Make sure they know they won't be able to see it from Kihei," Pardee Erdman said Friday, anticipating the same kind of criticism that has put the Kaheawa wind farm under fire.

State Sen. Roz Baker said she likes the appearance of the 20 towers at Kaheawa for what they represent – green energy.

State Sen. J. Kalani English, whose 6th District includes the wind site, said he's "very satisfied" that the planning will take view planes into account.

Although the Auwahi site is closer to Kihei than to Hana, the site is politically part of Hana, and English said, "I'm especially proud it's in my district."

English says Hawaii is and will continue to be a model for other Pacific islands states on renewable energy policy.

He recently returned from a conference of the Association of Pacific Islands Legislators on Saipan, where he said Hawaii's energy policy was adopted almost verbatim as the discussion framework for recommending a policy to member states.

Ulupalakua Ranch is home to 11 listed endangered species, ranging from the Blackburn's sphinx moth to plants to the dark-rumped petrel.

Sumner Erdman, president of Ulupalakua Ranch, says he's been out watching nights with a professional biologist, and he's convinced the petrels' main flyway up to their nests on the rim of Haleakala is south of the wind farm site.

The site has not been precisely determined, pending further wind and other studies, but is within a huge lot of 5,280 acres.

Biologist Art Medeiros' Auwahi forest recovery project is within that vast area, but it is not in the same location as the wind farm.

Ulupalakua Ranch has been supporting Medeiros' effort, and Erdman says revenue from wind farming will allow him to provide even more support.

He says he "has a comfort level" that his partners, Renewable Hawaii Inc. and Shell WindEnergy Inc., "understand our sentiments about the cultural, archaeological and environmental value of the land."

Erdman says he has read all the critical habitat surveys that affect the ranch and understands the issues that a wind farm will raise with native species.

Harry Eagar can be reached at heagar@mauinews.com.

Copyright © 2005 The Maui News.

Original article URL: http://www.mauinews.com/story.aspx?id=21118

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