After Decades of Hysteria--Lava Covers Geothermal Well-AND NOTHING HAPPENS!
KHON May 27, 2018: At 6:00 p.m., Hawaii County Civil Defense confirmed that lava was covering one of Puna Geothermal Ventures (map) wells that was successfully plugged.
That well, along with a second well 100 feet away, are stable and secured, and are being monitored.
Neither well is expected to release any hydrogen sulfide….County, State and Federal agencies continue to monitor hydrogen sulfide levels and no hydrogen sulfide has been detected….
HTH: Concern has previously been expressed about the potential release of hydrogen sulfide from lava reaching PGV’s production wells. The power plant has been taken offline, but KS-14 is still considered active. Travis said it would be “difficult … to imagine” a hydrogen sulfide leak “as a result of the intrusion of the lava.” “That doesn’t mean that there may not be a case that I haven’t anticipated. (But) I can give you no example of how that might happen right now,” he said.
HNN: Neither well is expected to release any hydrogen sulfide.
(Thus proving decades of Punatic anti-geothermal hysteria wrong. They won’t notice and nobody but Hawai’i Free Press will call attention to it.)
read … Hysteria Debunked
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Fear-Mongering Anti-Geothermal Activists Hope End to Plant
SA June 3, 2018: A controversial geothermal power plant that supplies about a quarter of the Big Island’s electricity was forced to shut down as lava from Kilauea Volcano threatened the property. Now opponents want to keep it closed — permanently….
Supporters, however, say opponents are spreading misinformation about the facility and that the technology for tapping underground steam and hot water via deep wells is considered safe.
“There are many in the community who use fear-mongering as a tactic against a variety of resources here,” including geothermal, said Bill Walter, president of the Hawaii Island Chamber of Commerce.
Richard Ha, who has been involved with Big Island agriculture for the past 40 years, said he disagrees with the position that the PGV site should be permanently closed. “Geothermal is a resource that we should use,” he said. “The closer you are to the rift zone, the more steam you get.”
Walter, Ha and others view geothermal as part of the answer to weaning Hawaii from heavy dependence on fossil fuels, describing it as reliable, cheap and safe. The PGV plant taps the underground steam and hot water to power turbines that produce electricity….
Last year and through April of this year, the Puna plant generated 29 percent of the island’s power…
The PGV facility has been criticized over the years for releasing hazardous gases, including hydrogen sulfide (Yeah. About 1 millionth of what the volcano releases daily even without the current eruptions). The most serious incident (of organized mass hysteria) came in 1991 when one of its well’s had a major blowout. The uncontrolled venting lasted 31 hours and triggered the (totally unnecessary) evacuation of nearby neighborhoods (in order to maximize the propaganda effect)…..
In the hours and days following that release, residents reported symptoms including headaches, grogginess, shallow breathing, scratchy throats, nausea and fever. (Clue: They were lying.)
Ruderman, the state senator, said no other geothermal plant in the world is located as close to homes as Puna’s. (And nowhere else do cronies subdivide a volcanic rift zone so voters can move in and start NIMBYing.)
“They’re dead,” Leilani Estates resident Sofia Wilt said of the plant. “People are angry.” Wilt bought her home in 2007 but lost it to lava last week….
“It’s been a horrible neighbor,” said Mike Hale, 48, who lived in Leilani Estates for the past 18 years but lost his home last month to the lava….
PDF: A Steady Source of Power
read … Lava flows reignite debate over the safety and future of the Puna Geothermal Venture facility
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May 26, 2018: Is this the end for geothermal energy in Hawaii?
Meanwhile: Giant Diesel Plant Completed—HECO Pretending it is ‘Green’