Kahe Utility Scale Photovoltaic Project EA

Client: Hawaiian Electric

PSI is preparing the environmental assessment (EA) for a 11.5 MW photovoltaic facility including interconnections with the island-wide electrical grid through the existing substation at the Kahe Generating Station.

*Conceptual Alignment of the Proposed 46 kV Transmission Facilities*

Schofield Generating Station EIS

Client: Tetra Tech, Inc.

PSI is helping Tetra Tech, Inc. prepare the Chapter 343 HRS portion of a joint federal/state environmental impact statement (EIS) that the Army and Hawaiian Electric are preparing. The EIS is for the Army’s proposed lease of 10.3 acres of land at Schofield Barracks and the subsequent construction and operation of a 50-megawatt (MW) biofuel-capable power generation plant and the electrical power transmission lines needed to integrate the power into Hawaiian Electric’s island-wide electrical grid.

Anahola Utility Scale Solar Project EA

Client: Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative (KIUC)

PSI prepared the Chapter 343 environmental assessment and the NEPA environmental report for a 12 MW solar photovoltaic on 50 acres of Department of Hawaiian Homelands property in Anahola, Kaua‘i. The project includes an electrical substation providing a connection to the island-wide electrical grid and construction of a Transmission and Distribution service center and base yard. (2014)

Puna Biomass Conversion Project

Client: Hawaiʻi Electric Light

PSI assessed the permits and land use approvals that would be needed to allow the existing steam boiler at Hawaiʻi Electric Light’s Puna Generating Station to be fueled by eucalyptus wood biomass instead of heavy fuel oil. It began with information from previous reports concerning the facilities that the client would need to construct and the way that these would be operated. PSI then identified the land use regulations applicable to each of several different project designs/operating circumstances being considered and identified the specific approvals that would be needed for each. Finally, it developed a detailed permitting timeline and suggested sequence for moving forward once the land-use approvals are garnered. The results of the analysis showed that the actual permitting pathway would be heavily influenced by the exact way the facilities are laid out within the property. This information informed the client’s subsequent decision-making. (2013)

Potential Site for OTEC Plant Off West O‘ahu — *Potential Site for OTEC Plant Off West O‘ahu*

Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC)

Client: Lockheed Martin Corporation

PSI helped Lockheed Martin develop a strategy for obtaining the environmental and other approvals needed to install and operate an OTEC facility in Hawaiian waters. The work included preparing presentation materials for use with stakeholder groups, meeting with regulatory agencies to identify approval requirements and processing procedures, and developing a detailed permitting schedule. (2012)

*Proposed Wave Energy Site at Pa`uwela Bay*

Maui Wave Energy

Client: Oceanlinx, Inc.

PSI helped Oceanlinx investigate the approvals needed to install and operate a wave energy facility off the windward coast of Maui, Hawai‘i. It prepared the application for a Preliminary Permit that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued in November 2009. PSI prepared detailed schedules, drafted project descriptions and other pre-application materials, and identified the additional studies and information that Oceanlinx would prepare as it moved through the permitting process. (2011)

Wind Farm Expansion, Kaheawa, Maui

Client: Kaheawa Wind Power, LLC

The EIS considered several alternative configurations of the wind turbine generators. The work included preparation of visual simulations of the appearance of the proposed facilities from key viewpoints. It also addressed measures that would be taken to prevent earthwork on the steep hillside from causing excessive soil erosion to stabilize the site when the facilities are eventually decommissioned. Finally, it provided the environmental impact information needed to obtain a Federal Incidental Take Permit from the USFWS and an Incidental Take License from the Hawai‘i Department of Land and Natural Resources. (2011)

Honua Biomass Gasification and Electrical Power Plant

Client: Honua Power, LLC

PSI prepared the environmental assessment (EA) for Honua Power, LLC’s proposed construction and operation of a biomass gasification and electrical power generation in O‘ahu’s Campbell Industrial Park. The facility is designed to gasify several types of feedstock and use the resulting synthetic gas (syngas) to create steam that powers a turbine-generator producing approximately 12 megawatts of electricity. Some of that electricity would be used to power its own equipment and processes, but the great majority would be sold to Hawaiian Electric. Feedstock (fuel) for the proposed facility would consist of: (i) scrap tires; (ii) non-recyclable paper and plastics; (iii) select construction and demolition debris; and (iv) organic materials left after shredding automobiles for scrap steel recovery. The EA paid particular attention to the effect that the proposed facility would have on sound levels, air and water quality, and transportation facilities and performance. (2010)