(ABOVE PHOTO) Inside the Puna Geothermal Venture control room, courtesy Hawaiian Electric Companies. 

NEWS BRIEF

• Puna Geothermal Venture will go offline tomorrow morning in anticipation of Tropical Storm Ana, according to Hawaii County Civil Defense.

INSIGHT

On August 7th, winds from Hurricane / Tropical Storm Iselle blew trees onto transmission lines, which forced the 38-megawatt power generating facility in Pohoiki to shutdown, and release steam. Numerous residents in the area – many of whom were unable to evacuate due to the storm – said the venting made them sick. They later demanded to know why Puna Geothermal Venture remained online as Iselle approached. Now that Tropical Storm Ana is nearing Hawaii Island, concerns have been raised again. Earlier today the Hawaii Electric Light Company told us they were in discussions with Puna Geothermal and have asked them to report what load PGV can safely operate their facility during the storm. In the afternoon, Darryl Oliveira informed media during a conference call that PGV will be going offline Friday morning in order to avoid a situation similar to what happened on August 7th.

ARCHIVE VIDEO

Published on September 2, this video report covers a community meeting held following the August 7th incident at PGV.