Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 33, Number 1, 1 Ianuali 2016 — DHHL grants permit and lease for wind energy exploration [ARTICLE]

DHHL grants permit and lease for wind energy exploration

The Hawaiian Homes Commission has voted unanimously to proceed with an alterative energy wind project proposed by NextEra Energy Resources on Hawaiian Home Lands in Kahikinui on the island of Maui. In November, the commission approved a three-year right of entry permit to Boulevard Associates to survey 500 acres of land on the southern flank of Haleakalā for wind power generation. Boule-

vard Associates is a subsidiary of NextEra Energy. NextEra will pay the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands $ 175,000 per year for the three-year permit. If NextEra proceeds with the project, it would enter into a 20-year general lease with DHHL. The current proposal includes a 20-turbine wind project on 30 acres of Maui land generating as mueh as 60 megawatts. "In the short run, the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands receives ineome while Boulevard conducts its due diligence. In the long run, if a lease is executed, this project will provide DHHL with much-needed revenue to plaee more native Hawaiian families onto DHHL lands," said Jobie Masagatani, Hawaiian Homes Commission Chair.