Video courtesy ‘Olelo Community Media, Voice of Sherry Bracken

HONOLULU, Hawaii – On Friday, the Board of Land and Natural Resources gave their OK to an expanded geothermal resource exploration permit on Hualalai volcano in Kona.

DLNR’s Chief Engineer Carty Chang presented the application to the land board. The applicant is the University of Hawaii.

Courtesy BLNR submittal

This map, taken from the submittal for the BLNR agenda item, shows the general locations of the new exploration requests. They’ll be looking at spots in Kona, such as off Hina Lani Street in Kaloko, as well locations on either side of Kaiminani Drive, east of the airport.

There was one public testifier: Terri Napeahi of the Pele Defense Fund made the trip to Oahu to share her opinion. The discussion led into Napeahi’s experience with geothermal over the years in Puna.