In a sure sign of the times, lies about geothermal energy are once again making the front pages of Hawai`i's newspapers. The above quote begins a June 15 "Intro to geothermal" in West Hawai`i Today, billed as part of an "in-depth series exploring geothermal energy, examining its past, present and future."
How a toxic soup containing hydrogen sulfide, lead, arsenic, boride, cadmium, mercury and nickel could ever be described as clean taxes even the wildest of imaginations. Carolyn Lucas and Daniel Brock share credit for the invention. As woefully inadequate as the research that went into their article was, it still produced copy to belie the 'clean' claim. On page 4, they refer to the "safe disposal of geothermal fluids" and their potential for "cross contamination of groundwater systems," this while noting that they are "toxic substances." Then there is the reference to the fact that exposure to the levels of H2S contained in the Puna resource "results in death in a few minutes."
So to recap, the geothermal steam Lucas and Brock are writing about contains one of the ten most deadly substances known to man in amounts that can kill you in a few minutes, hosts a heap of highly carcinogenic heavy metals, must be disposed of safely because it can contaminate groundwater, is considered toxic by state regulatory agencies and is, nonetheless, clean. This because West Hawai`i Today says so.
On to the renewable claim, which, I admit, is more debatable but only because here one must counter the efforts of uber slick lobbyists who have, over the past several decades, worked the laws promoting alternatives to oil.
Hawai`i State law accepts geothermal as a renewable resource (to the economic advantage of developers) but the phenomenon known as 'depletion' belies that claim as well. Solar and wind are renewable because the sun, which is the source for both, is not scheduled to go out any time soon. By comparison, geothermal wells go cold and lose pressure, sometimes in a matter of years, at which point they have to be replaced with a new well or the resource has to be abandoned altogether. It takes much longer -- at least one order of magnitude longer -- for the Earth to create and charge geothermal pockets of steam than it takes humans to discharge them. While some geothermal fields are vast, they are not renewable.
As for the final claim that geothermal is free, if Lucas, Brock and their editor Flickinger are prepared to stand by this then perhaps they would like to cough up the huge refund due HELCO and its customers for the millions they have paid PGV to date. (PGV is Hawai`i's only geothermal developer.) Once again the authors contradict themselves in the article by providing an analysis that puts the cost per megawatt at $4,000. That's four thousand dollars not nadas.
There is no hiding behind the excuse that what the authors really meant was no agent collects on behalf of Mother Nature when geothermal fluids are extracted. The Earth doesn't charge us for oil or natural gas either, which by the Lucas method would make them free as well. Add to this the fact that PGV, like any geothermal developer, is obligated to pay royalties to the state (with a portion going to Native Hawaiians) for a resounding conclusion that the statement is purposely misleading.
Analysis of this "in-depth series" has not gone beyond the first four words and I am already at over 600 words of criticism; to be fair, I am okay with the way Lucas used the word 'and.'
As for the rest of the article, it is riddled with equally deceptive statements. Lucas and Brock ignored the community's side of the blowout story. Had they bothered to check they would have learned about a litany of health problems residents experienced, including the account of a woman who miscarried during the 31-hour open venting episode.
Downright sinister are their comparisons to benign sources that heated Roman baths and cooked Paleo-Indian meals. All geothermal is not equal. The subterranean steam found in Puna is one of the world's most toxic resources, under more pressure, heated to a higher degree and located in an area more prone to catastrophe than most.
Clearly, geothermal has a role to play in Hawai`i's energy future. Deciding how and when it will be used is an important call the community makes together.
Printing lies about it won't make geothermal acceptable. Just ask the people who tried the last time around.
Kristine Kubat is editor of Big Island Weekly. Contact her at kkubat@bigislandweekly.com or (808) 930-8668.
