> Geothermal suit settled
>
> The State of Hawaii has officially given up all efforts to
> promote geothermal development in the Wao Kele o Puna
> rainforest on the Big Island. The February settlement
> finalizes the victory won last year when True Geothermal
> pulled out of the project...
Aloha kakou (greetings to all):
The news regarding geothermal development in Hawai`i is generally
good. However, we need to remember that there is an existing 25 Megawatt
plant which is operating in the Wao Kele `O Puna rainforest at the
present. This plant is still a focal point of opposition to geothermal
on cultural, religious, health, and economic grounds. I believe that for
the present, the State of Hawai`i has withdrawn its support for
geothermal energy. But, when the economic climate changes I am fearful
that once again there will be a push to develop Hawai`i's geothermal
resource. We need to be ever vigilant. Thank you to the many folks and
organizations outside the Native Hawaiian community for providing support
over the years to this struggle. E malama pono kakou, Scott