NORTH SHORE—Clean energy company First Wind, who is constructing the first wind farm Oahu has seen in over 20 years, decided on Wednesday to stop hauling wind turbine components to their Kahuku property during the day, and will now transport the cargo between the hours of 9:30 p.m. and 5:00 a.m., beginning August 13. The company has been transporting large wind turbine blades and tower components on oversized trailers through the North Shore between 8:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m since early August, a schedule that resulted in drastic traffic jams for up to a half hour at a time between Haleiwa and Sunset Beach.

A First Wind representative said on Thursday that the day time schedule was a test transport operation, intended to familiarize the trailer drivers with the route from Kalaeloa Barbers Point Harbor to the 575-acre parcel of land in Kahuku where construction began in July.

Much to the dismay of Oahu commuters, the turbine hauling fell mid-day during prime North Shore traffic time, inconveniencing and frustrating drivers. First Wind said the test runs were coordinated with the State Department of Transportation (DOT), who required the use of oversized trailers and has now approved the evening transportation.

In a press release Thursday, First Wind stated the turbine transportation began August 6. However, North Shore residents and The Hawaii Independent witnessed the components being hauled down Kamehameha Highway several days earlier.

“Thank goodness they’re doing this. It was getting bad, I was stuck in traffic from these things two days in a row. I think everyone out here is going to be pretty happy,” said a Rocky Point resident on Friday.

Drivers at a complete stop in traffic for approximately half-an-hour on August 6 were out of their vehicles walking and standing in the middle of Kamehameha Highway, venting to others, and sitting in the back of trucks for the approximate 30 minutes the traffic was stopped between Pipeline and Shark’s Cove, and from Waimea Bay to Chun’s Reef.

Kekoa Kaluhiwa, director of external affairs for First Wind, said, “We are pleased that the test runs were successful and we thank the North Shore community for their understanding and patience with traffic disruptions.”

The turbine blades are components of the 12 2.5-MW wind turbines produced by Clipper Liberty that will help produce clean energy, all of which will go into the Oahu grid. The turbines will be constructed on property located near Charlie Road, between Kahuku Town and Turtle Bay, mauka of Kamehameha Highway on land owned by the company.

According to Kahuku Wind, construction on the farm is expected to be completed by early 2011 and will create employment opportunities for design, engineering, and construction, including approximately 200 construction jobs. Upon completion, the Kahuku Wind Project will have the capacity to generate enough renewable energy to power 7,700 Oahu homes.

First Wind is asking drivers to exercise caution when encountering the oversized trailers. The transport route begins from Kalaeloa Barbers Point Harbor proceeding east on H1; north on Kamehameha Highway to Ka Uka Boulevard; north on H2 and continuing through the North Shore to Kahuku.

Background & Related Stories

Background

Hawaii wind power

A State mandate says that, by 2030, 40 percent of Hawaii’s electricity will be derived from renewable sources. In order to meet that goal, the State is considering a plan that includes building a wind farm consisting of 200 turbines, each over 400 feet tall, on Lanai to power Oahu.

The Hawaii Interisland Renewable Energy Program (HIREP) would produce renewable energy through the use of wind turbine technology on one or more Hawaiian Islands and transfer the electricity generated to another island or islands by means of one or more undersea cables for subsequent transmission and distribution to energy consumers.

Implementation of the proposed wind energy program would be a cooperative effort of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the State of Hawaii, represented by the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT), to advance the objectives of the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative (HCEI), a partnership between the State of Hawaii and DOE with a goal of instituting a fundamental and sustained transformation in the way in which renewable energy resources are planned and used in the state.

In a letter send out to Lanai residents, Friends of Lanai state: “If the proposed industrial wind power plant for Oahu is built on Lanai, the destruction of our island is forever. It is irrevocable; we will not get our land back. Once the new roads are in, the massive holes dug, hundreds of thousands of cubic yards of concrete poured, and the 410 foot tall turbines erected, future generations of Lanaians will never again see the magnificent view planes, the rich cultural sites and the abundant game everyone who lives and visits Lanai enjoys today. They would be gone forever.”

On Oahu, Kahuku Wind (KW), the first wind farm on the island in over 20 years, went live in March. The farm will generate enough energy to power approximately 7,700 Oahu homes.

The Kahuku site, known as one of the windiest areas on the island, will supply approximately two to three percent of Oahu’s energy needs. First Wind had explored two other locations for their first Oahu farm, including Kaena Point. But after installing meteorological towers that measure wind speed and consistency at the Kahuku property, Kahuku proved to be the ideal location.

The 410-foot tall turbines that currently dot the property are estimated to last approximately 20 years. After that, the stainless steel, balsa wood, and fiber glass turbines that are produced in Idaho by Clipper Liberty, will be scrapped and replaced with new ones.

In the development phases of Kahuku Wind, Oahu residents were concerned about the farm being located too close to their homes, thus decreasing their property value, and being an eyesore. In August 2010, North Shore residents complained about the bumper-to-bumper traffic caused as turbine parts were being transported to the Kahuku Wind site for construction. Kahuku wind ultimately changed the transport times to avoid rush-hour traffic in the area.