Hawaii regulators orders HELCO to move fast on geothermal contract
State Capitol of Hawaii, Honolulu (source: flickr/ Daniel Ramirez, creative commons)
Alexander Richter
22 May 2014
Hawaii Public Utilities Commission orders utility Hawaii Electric Light Co. to explain how it plans to complete the RFP for a geothermal contract on Hawaii timely.
The regulatory authorities in Hawaii regulators are coming down hard on Hawaii Electric Light Co. for delaying the award of a geothermal energy contract, as reported today from Hawaii.
The regulators require HELCO to explain itself on how it plans to complete the RFP process timely.
“Such action is necessary is light of HELCO’s lack of timely, decisive action and urgency in completing the bid evaluation and selection processes to procure up to 50 megawatts of geothermal capacity on the island from interested bidders,” the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission said in an order to HELCO on Wednesday.
As ThinkGeoEnergy reported previously, the utility was expected to award a geothermal contract based on an RFP for the development of up to 50 MW in August or September 2013.
In early 2014, we also reported that HELCO had indefinitely halted the tender process saying that none of the bidders provided a qualifying bid, not “meeting both the low-cost and technical requirements of the geothermal RFP.”
At least six companies are said to be in the running to develop the project, including Huena Power, formed by Innovations Development Group, a Native Hawaiian renewable-energy firm founded in 1998 by Roberta Cabral.
Huena Power has said it already has invested several million dollars in preparation for this development contract, including a television commercial blitz featuring community leaders.
Source: Pacific Business News
