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Murashige, Laura
From: Andrea Gill [AGill @dbedt.hawaii.gov] 77 I" ";: 03
Sent: Thursday, November 08, 2012 12:01 PM
To: counciltestimony @co.hawaii.hi.us
Subject: DBEDT testimony for Bill 292 11/9/12
Attachments: DBEDT testimony Bill 292 Council Clerk.pdf
Aloha,
Please enter this testimony for the record and circulate to all council members prior to the Council
meeting Friday, Nov. 9, which includes Bill 292 on the agenda
Andrea T. Gill
Renewable Energy Specialist
State of Hawaii
Department of Business, Economic Development&Tourism
Strategic Industries (Energy) Division
99 Aupuni Street#214; Hilo, HI 96720
tel 808-933-0312; fax 808-933-0313
agill@dbedt.hawaii.gov
www.energy.hawaii.gov
Join us at the Asia Pacific Clean Energy Summit& Expo on August 13-15, 2012
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Ref. Date NOV 0 9 2012
11/8/2012
.,. .7.9..«."--:44;i, NEIL ABERCROMBIE
P.� GOVERNOR
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' t. ° DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS, DIRECTOR
$ ti MARY ALICE EVANS
`s;= 4{i;igi t IP ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT & TOURISM DEPUTY DIRECTOR
'`.•��Pr No.1 Capitol District Building,250 South Hotel Street,5th Floor,Honolulu,Hawaii 96813 Telephone: (808)586-2355
P ••••......� �°, Mailing Address: P.O.Box 2359,Honolulu,Hawaii 96804 Fax: (808)586-2377
a� N:ta Web site: www.hawaii.gov/dbedt
November 8, 2012
Hawaii County Council
c/o Office of the County Clerk
25 Aupuni Street
Hilo, HI 96720
Dear Chair Yagong and Council Members,
Thank you for the opportunity to provide comments on Bill 292 and its proposed
amendment. Bill 292 would restrict geothermal drilling operations within one mile of a
residence to the hours between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., and the amendment clarifies that these
restrictions would not apply to existing vested permits.
While we appreciate the Council's efforts to address community concerns regarding
noise and other impacts of geothermal drilling, Bill 292 will not be effective in protecting public
health and safety. In fact,requiring the cessation of drilling will not only increase the cost of
geothermal development and the length of time required to drill geothermal wells, but it is likely
to increase the risk to public safety. For these reasons, no other known jurisdiction in the U.S.
limits drilling hours in this way, although geothermal wells have been drilled in urban areas,
resorts and college campuses elsewhere in the nation.
Stopping drilling at night will not necessarily reduce noise, as generators and pumps will
still need to operate in order to circulate fluids and avoid a potentially dangerous build up of
temperature and pressure within the uncompleted well. Stopping drilling and casing operations
increases the chance that gases and fluids could leave the well, entering the surrounding rocks
and potentially affecting the aquifer or even coming to the surface. The well walls would also be
more likely to experience collapse if drilling and casing operations were halted. The Council has
received additional technical information on these situations from GeothermEx, a nationally-
recognized geothermal consulting company, which should be seriously considered.
Geothermal energy is an important contributor to Hawaii County's electricity(21.2%in
2011) and has helped the State attain its Renewable Portfolio Standard goals thus far. Further, it
has the potential to continue to provide reliable, affordable electricity. The State looks forward
to working with Hawai'i County to ensure that geothermal power is developed safely while
taking community concerns into account.
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on Bill 292. Please do not hesitate to contact
Andrea Gill, Geothermal Specialist, from my office if you would like to discuss these points
further. Andrea can be reached by email at agill @dbedt.hawaii.gov, or by phone at 808-933-
0312 at her office in Hilo.
Sincerely,
Mar : , Administrator
Hawaii State Energy Office
Cc: Andrea Gill, Geothermal Specialist, Hawaii State Energy Office