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Kahuku Wind Farm Environmental Planning & Permitting

   
Kahuku Wind Farm Environmental Planning and Permitting

Project Highlights:

Project Description:

First Wind Energy, LLC approached Environet in 2007 for our expertise and advice in City and County of Honolulu land use permitting services to establish its future Kahuku North Shore wind farm. Having just gotten their Kaheawa, Maui wind energy development off the ground, First Wind officials needed assistance in understanding and navigating through the complex maze of the City and County of Honolulu�s regulatory requirements for their second project in Hawaii. First Wind�s wind energy farms on Maui and Oahu provide a key component of the land side electrical energy sources for which an interisland undersea cable is being built for interisland energy transmission.

The Kahuku wind energy development is the first 30-megawatt, 12-turbine renewable energy wind farm of its kind on Oahu. The site consists of 575 acres of former sugar cane land off of Kamehameha Highway on the North Shore. The project evaluations and surveys included acoustics and noise impact assessments, geotechnical engineering exploration, slope hazard analysis and Minerals Management Service requirements, water resource studies, flora/fauna surveys, terrestrial biota surveys, a Habitat Conservation Plan, archeology and cultural resource inventories, a cultural impact assessment, a NEPA environmental assessment, Historic Preservation and Cultural Resource Management Plans, public education in the areas of history and cultural resources, proactive community consultation, and working with Hawaii State Historic Preservation Standards and Guidelines.